A New Start
by Caskett Hopeful
Summary: Rick and Kate meet for the first time at the hospital. Why are they here? How will it go? How will it impact their lives? Read to find out ;- Rick: 30; Kate: 23; Alexis: 5
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of it's characters ... you know what to get me for my birthday ;-)**

**This is a FICTION so I took some liberties with the characters, at least regarding their ages.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Waiting. She hated waiting, waiting rooms and everything that went wit it. She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks but she didn't bother drying them. They would just come back anyway, so what was the point? She took a look around the waiting room of the emergency room for the tenth time in an hour. It was a typical waiting room: rows of chairs against the walls, a table with old magazines and newspapers, people filling insurance forms, people yelling at nurses or at each other, people sleeping in painful positions, people queuing at the coffee machine … who knew an ER waiting room would be so busy at three in the morning?

She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt a small hand take one of hers. She followed the arm and saw that the hand belonged to a cute little redhead.

"Why are you crying?" the child asked quietly.

"I don't know. I guess I'm scared … and sad."

"Do you want Mr. Binky?" the child asked, handing her a stuffed rabbit. "If you hug him real tight you're not scared anymore. Daddy says it's because he does magic."

"I'm sure he does Sweetie." she said, smiling for the first time since she got to the hospital. "So, I'm Kate, what's your name?"

"Alexis. I'm five!" she answered proudly.

"Are you alone Alexis? Is someone here with you?" Kate asked, looking around the room.

"Daddy went to the bathroom. He told me to sit here and not to move until he comes back. We're here because my Gram twisted her foot. Why are you here?"

"I … uh … my dad was sick so I brought him here. And now I'm just waiting." she sighed.

"I can wait with you if you want. Daddy says it's less long if you have someone to wait with you." Alexis said.

"Your daddy has an answer for everything, doesn't he?" Kate laughed.

"Well, he knows a lot of things and he is the best of all the daddies." she stated, love and adoration pouring from her eyes.

"Miss Beckett?" a nurse called from the station.

"Well, that's me. You sit here and wait for your daddy ok?" Kate said, getting up from her chair.

Alexis nodded and waved at her before starting to play with Mr. Binky on the chair Kate had just left.

Stupid, useless, incapable … that's what Kate felt like when she left the doctor's office. Her father was going to be fine but there was still a problem. Through blood tests, they saw that he had been drinking much more alcohol than necessary on a regular basis. She was training to become a detective for crying out loud! How could she have missed that her own father was turning into an alcoholic? Sure, they were not as close as they used to be but still! She had brought him here tonight because he almost fainted from stomach aches after the dinner they were having at his place. She had been expecting appendicitis, an ulcer, even cancer, but she did not expect THAT!

She got out of the hospital as if she were on auto-pilot. She didn't see anything, she couldn't hear anything or anyone, she just walked and found herself outside. She seemed to go back to being herself when she felt the night air on her face. That's also when everything she had been told in the last half hour really sank in. She sat on the stairs in front of the hospital and started crying. She couldn't get herself under control. All the possibilities were running through her head and it was just … too much.

"Come on Alexis, give a kiss to Gram and let's go home. It's way past your bedtime and she needs rest so that her foot can get better." Richard Castle told his daughter.

They said their goodbyes and left Martha's room.

"Dad, when we come back tomorrow to visit, can we bring flowers?" Alexis asked, skipping down the hallway, her hand in her father's.

"Sure. What kind of flowers do you want to bring?"

"The same as on her pink pajamas. They're really pretty!"

"Ok then, we'll stop at the flower shop on our way over here tomorrow." Rick laughed, wondering for the millionth time what he did to deserve such a sweet daughter.

They got out of the hospital hand in hand, heading for the car when Alexis suddenly stopped walking.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Rick asked, turning to her.

"That's Kate." Alexis said, pointing at the young woman who was curled into a ball, sobbing.

"Who's Kate?"

"She the nice lady I was talking to when you were in the bathroom and ..."

"Alexis, how many times do I have to tell you not to talk to strangers? It's not safe!" Rick panicked.

"But she's not a stranger, she's Kate. And she was crying because her daddy was sick." she explained before letting go of her father's hand and running towards the young woman.

"Alexis, come back here" Rick yelled, running after her.

Kate lifted her head from her knees when she heard the name and saw the little girl near her with worry in her eyes. It was becoming more and more difficult to breathe and she didn't seem to be able to calm herself.

"Miss, are you alright?" she heard a masculine voice ask. Alexis's dad.

Kate nodded and tried to get up. She felt herself lunge forward before everything went black.

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**So ... what did you think of this beginning?**

**Don't worry this is just the start, the next chapters will be longer.**


	2. Chapter 2

When Kate opened her eyes, she closed them immediately. Bright. Way too bright. On her second attempt, she managed to get her eyes half open before a shadow came to her, making her close them again.

"I know you're awake, I saw you move your eyes." she heard a voice say.

She tried once more and successfully opened her eyes only to come face to face with Richard Castle. THE Richard Castle. She closed them back immediately.

"Are you ok Miss?" he asked, sounding worried.

"You're Richard Castle." was all she managed to get out.

"Yes I am, but are you feeling alright?"

"You're Richard Castle." she simply repeated.

"Yes, I know. Now, can you open your eyes and say something else so I'm sure you're not dying or anything?"

She finally opened her eyes completely and looked at him. What was he doing with her? Where was she? What happened? As if he could hear her thinking, he explained the situation.

"You're at the hospital. My daughter saw you crying on the stairs and you fainted when you tried to get up." he said, looking at Alexis who was sleeping in the chair in a corner of the room they were in.

As she was about to say something, a nurse entered the room.

"Oh good, you're awake! I'm nurse Parish but you can just call me Lanie. How are you feeling?"

"He is Richard Castle." Kate said.

"It's the only thing she'd been saying since she woke up. I think something is wring with her. Maybe she hit her head and I didn't see it." Rick said.

"Don't worry, all her tests are fine. My guess is she's just not used to seeing celebrities and she really likes your books, or you, or both." Lanie said, looking at Kate. "See, she's blushing! Everything is fine with her." she laughed.

"I always thought a nurse's job was to help the patients, not to embarrass them." Kate grumbled, crossing her arms on her chest.

She started getting out of the bed but Lanie's arm on her shoulder stopped her.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"Home. Where else would I go? I need to get ready for work. What time is it?"

"Five." Rick answered, looking at his watch.

"Oh my God I'm already late!" Kate said, gathering her things.

"Are you crazy? You are not going to work today! You fainted and it took you two hours to come out of it. And your blood pressure is way lower than normal. All you're doing today is rest and if your blood pressure is back to normal by tonight, you can go back tomorrow but you have to take it easy!" Lanie said, not happy with what she was hearing.

"Well, I'm not staying here all day!" Kate exclaimed.

"It's either you stay here or you give me your address and I go and check on you tonight." Lanie traded.

"That's blackmail! You can't force me to stay in here and I'm most certainly not telling you where I live. What kind of a nurse are you?" Kate almost yelled.

"Uh, ladies, could you keep it quiet? There is a child sleeping here." Rick intervened.

"Look, take your daughter home Mr. Castle. It was really nice of you to get me here but you didn't have to stay. Take you little girl home and put her to bed. I'm going home and that's the end of it." Kate said.

"How did you come here?" Lanie asked.

"I drove. I brought my father to the emergency room."

"I'm letting you go on one condition. You can go but only if writer-boy here is driving you home. Otherwise you stay here." Lanie said.

"What is it with you and blackmail, seriously?" Kate asked.

"It's your choice: home with writer-boy or hospital with me." Lanie repeated.

Kate glared at her for a few seconds. Seeing that the petite black woman had no intention of backing down, she grumbled "home" and waited by the door for Richard Castle to take his daughter and bring her home.

They left the hospital and walked to Rick's car in silence.

"So, apparently you know me, but I don't know you. What's your name and where do you live?" Rick started as they left the parking lot.

"Wow, you're of the direct kind, aren't you?" she laughed.

"Hey, a smile! Everything can happen! And no, I'm not really of the direct kind. If I ask for your address it's so I can drive you home. My intentions are pure, I promise."

Kate blushed furiously and gave him her address, turning to the window to hide her embarrassment. She said "thank you" and all but run out of the car when he parked out of her apartment building.

* * *

When Kate woke up, it was five in the afternoon. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that she was in her bed, in her apartment and there was no famous crime novelist hovering over her. Well, that was a good start. When she remembered the night before, all she could think about was "Oh God, I made such a fool of myself!" She forced herself out of her bed and went into the shower. Once she was ready for what was left of the day, she realized that she had the weekend off and that she didn't have to go back to the precinct until Monday evening for her night shift.

She had to call the hospital to know when her father would be discharged and what were her options for getting him cured. However, she did not want to think about that today. He had clearly said to the doctor that he didn't want her to visit after all his tests were done. That was what hurt the most. Even more than the news in itself. Tomorrow she will think about it. She had already lost a parent, she was not losing the second one. And certainly not to something as stupid as alcohol!

With her resolution in mind, she took a book on her shelf and settled on the couch. Her reading was interrupted by someone knocking at the front door. She went and opened it on a messenger carrying flowers.

"Kate Beckett?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Sign here please." he said, handing her the signing sheet. "ere you go. Have a good evening." he added, giving her the flowers and walking away.

Kate went back in her apartment and put the flowers on the table. They were really beautiful but she had absolutely no idea who could have sent them. She took the card and read it quickly:

"_I hope you're felling better._

_Rick Castle._

_PS: got your last name from the mailbox._"

She smiled softly. She had never imagined him to be so … caring for someone he had met for a total of two hours. It was definitely not the image the media were giving of him. She didn't have time to think about it further because someone was knocking at her door … again. This time, she came face to face with a certain petite nurse.

"You've got to be kidding me! What are you doing here?" Kate asked, incredulous.

"Well, I told you you'd have to take a blood pressure test tonight so here I am."

"How did you find out where I live?"

"Oh that! Well, the little girl with the red hair told me your name was Kate and you told me you brought your father in so I checked on the computer all the male patients who were admitted last night and checked their next of kins until I found a Kate. More precisely a Katherine. You'll be happy to know that you were the only one by that name admitted last night. And your address was registered." Lanie explained, inviting herself in the apartment. Nice flowers. Boyfriend seeking forgiveness?"

"Mr. Castle, actually." Kate answered before opening wide eyes.

Why was she telling that to the not so nice nurse? Why was she letting her into her home?

"Well, well, I'd say you got yourself quite a friend here Kate! Now roll up your sleeve."

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**So, what do you think of this second chapter?**

**Still interested in reading this story?  
**

**;-)  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Once Kate had managed to get rid of the over-lively nurse, she got back to her reading and was soon engrossed in the story. A story written by a certain Richard Castle. If Kate had been completely shocked to find him at her bedside in the hospital, there was a reason. Every time she thought about it, she was mad at herself. How had she let the few minutes she had spent with him turn her into a complete idiot? She assumed it was the fan-girl syndrome. Because yes, Katherine Beckett was a huge fan of Richard Castle. She had all his books, she had read them so much that the covers were cornered, theirs spines were crackled and some pages were detached... She also had Richard Castle mugs, Richard Castle T-shirts in her dresser and even cut out pictures of him that she liked from magazines and newspapers. No one but her father knew about it, she wanted to call him right now and giggle about how she met him but it was not possible. Because her father didn't want to talk to her.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

For Kate, the next day started with a visit to her mother's grave. It was still hard for her to go there but she needed it. It reinforced her decision to help her father get out of the bottle. Instead of calling the hospital, she decided to go there. She was going to see her father, even if he didn't want to see her. She had to make him understand what was happening, what he was doing to himself and what he was doing to her. However, her decision weakened as she entered the hospital. The was to her father's room seemed endless and her resolution weakened with each step. She stopped at his door and didn't move for a couple of minutes. She shook her head and opened the door, entering his room with a decided step. Her father was in his bed, reading the newspaper. He looked up when he heard the door open but looked back down when he saw his daughter come in.

"Hey dad." Kate said, sitting in the chair next to his bed.

She was not expecting any answer but it still hurt when she didn't get any. She sat there, looking at him. He was doing a pretty good job at ignoring her. After fifteen minutes of silence, Kate couldn't take it anymore. She took a piece of paper and a pen out of her handbag and started to write.

"_Dad,_

_I know you don't want to talk to me, I really don't understand why but I respect your decision. If it's because of your problem with alcohol, don't shut me out, please! I can help you. Together we can overcome this. There is no need for you to face it by yourself. I'm here for you. I know Mom's death was hard for you – I assume that's why you started drinking – but it was hard on me too. I finally got my head around everything that has happened and now this? I can't lose you Dad! I can't lose the only parent I have left. I can't be an orphan at 23! But I can't accept a father who will not face his problems and deal with them either. I can't just stay here and watch you drink your life away. I get that you're hurting, I do, but there are other ways to deal with it. I went to see a psychiatrist. Me! I think that means that anything can happen. And it actually helped. If you don't take any actions to face your problem with alcohol, I just can't stay by your side. I know it's harsh and probably selfish and unfair of me to say this but it's either the alcohol or me. Your choice._

_I just want my daddy back._

_Katie"_

When she had finished writing the letter, Kate dried her tears, folded up the piece of paper and put it on the table by his bed. She gathered her things and left the room, her father still pretending to read the newspaper. Once she was out in the hallway, she leaned against the wall, dropped to the floor and started crying. She only stopped when she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder. She looked up to see Richard Castle crouching next to her.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Do I look like I'm ok?" she snapped.

"No, but you look like you're going to pass out. Come on, I'll get you something to eat." Rick said, presenting his hand for her to take and get up.

She seemed to be thinking about the proposition before accepting his help. What harm could it make? He took her out of the hospital and to a coffee shop just a block away. He sat her at a table and went back to the counter to place his order. When he came back, he placed a fuming cup of cocoa and a giant chocolate muffin in front of her.

"What is with the chocolate?" Kate asked, talking for the first time since they left the hospital.

"It's the best comforting food known to man!" Rick answered, smiling softly.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you before." Kate added, picking at her muffin.

"Don't worry about that. We all have our moments."

They ate and drank in silence for a moment before Kate asked the question that had been bugging her.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Rick asked, clearly confused.

"Talking to me, making me eat, sending me flowers? Thank you for those by the way, they were really beautiful."

"I'm doing this because I don't like to see people hurt. I admit, if Alexis hadn't run to you the other night, I probably wouldn't have stopped. I mean, it's not really uncommon to see people crying around a hospital. But once you fainted into my arms … I don't know … well, first of all I couldn't leave you there, that's just common sense but … it felt right to help you. You seemed so fragile at he time. And then I saw how determined you were, arguing with this nurse, it intrigued me. You seem special. I don't know." he explained.

"Wow. You're good at all this talking and sharing stuff, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's why I'm a writer. And apparently you know me." he laughed. "or at least my name.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was kind of … shocked."Kate said, smiling. "But you're different from what I thought."

"Good different, I hope."

"Yeah. You seem … more real."

"You shouldn't believe everything you read in the magazines or the newspapers. They print what they want to print and in the way they want to print it."

"Oh, so you're not a best-selling author who parties the night away every weekend with a different date each time?" she teased.

"Well, you got the best-selling author part right but I'm not really into parties. Not the big public one anyway. I prefer parties with real friends and family. But according to Paula, my agent, a thirty-year-old should not stay at home with his daughter in front of the TV for a Disney marathon. He should be out on the town, at the most famous restaurants and clubs with beautiful women who have absolutely nothing interesting to say."

"Oh, it's so hard to be you Castle!" Kate laughed.

"Castle?"

"Sorry. It's a job habit, calling everyone by their last name."

"And what is it that you do?"

"I'm a cop. Training to make detective next year." she answered proudly.

"Wow! Now, that's interesting." Rick said, clearly surprised but looking really interested.

Apparently, she had found the exception that proves the rule.

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**so, here you go with chapter three! what did you think?**

**oh, i'm going on holidays for three weeks so i won't be able to update until August 19th ... have a great summer!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**So ... it appears the 2nd part of my we-don't-tell-you-where-we're-going vacations is at my uncle's ... who has a computer and the Internet ... looks like you'll get your updates before the 19th after all ;-)**

**Hope you like this chapter.  
**

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They spent nearly two hours talking about their respective jobs. Just as two long-lost friends would do. When they parted and went home, Kate was even surprised to realize that he had made her forget what had happened earlier with her father.

It had been hard. Probably one of the hardest things she ever had to do – except burying her mother of course – but she would stand by her decision. It was the only way to make him understand. She would call or go to the hospital to know more about his condition but she would not visit him. If he wanted to see her, he would have to accept that he has a problem and ask for help. It would not be easy for her not to see her father but she would stuck to her decision. It was for his own good.

She spent most of the rest of her day looking for facilities or rehab centers that could help her father without completely ruining her. She printed several brochures out and put them aside, deciding that she would take them with her when she goes to the hospital on Monday.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

The next day, Kate decided to go for a run in the park early, before the heat prevented her from doing anything of her day. She woke up around 8, put on her running shorts and a tight fitting tank top and left her apartment. Apparently, she was not the only one who had thought about an early outing. The park was almost as busy as it was in the afternoons when the weather was warm and sunny.

Kate ran for about an hour and a half before stopping to stretch her legs. She was going to sit on an empty bench for a while before going back home when she heard a child yell.

"Daddyyyyy ! I can't stop !"

She turned around to see a young redhead on rollerblades, arms in the air trying not to fall. Before she had time to react and catch the girl who was passing near her, she saw Rick Castle arrive on his own rollerblades, make a sort of loop and catch his daughter under her arms. Right, Alexis. Kate had not recognized her with her helmet and her sunglasses.

"You were doing great Sweetie!" Rick said, really enthusiastic.

"But it's scary. I don't know how to stop. What if I hit into someone?" Alexis asked.

"Well, that's a good way to stop." Rick answered seriously.

Kate couldn't help but laugh at his answer, which made the two Castles look at her. They hadn't noticed her before, Alexis being too scared and Rick trying to catch up with her.

"Hey Daddy, it's Kate!" Alexis exclaimed, starting to move as if she was going to run to her but forgetting that she had rollerblades at her feet.

Kate saw Alexis start to move and roll and caught her just before she lost her balance.

"Hello Alexis." Kate said, laughing as the girl tried not to start rolling again.

"Do you want to put your shoes back on Pumpkin?" Rick asked, rolling the rest of the way to them.

He was getting the backpack off his back, trying to open it while Alexis was nodding, still very focused on trying not to move her feet.

Kate saw it happen but couldn't move fast enough to prevent it: Rick rolling to them, the strap of the bag getting stuck on his shoulder, the grass line approaching …. Before she could react, Rick was on the ground, on his stomach, the backpack still in place but its contents spread all over him. Kate and Alexis burst into laughter, making fun of him. Kate picked the girl's shoes from around Rick's head, carried Alexis to a bench and took her rollerblades off, Rick trying to get back on his feet and getting all his stuff back. He sat on the bench next to his daughter and took his own rollerblades off.

"Well, one thing is certain, the Castles are not good on rollerblades." Kate stated, laughing when she saw both of them pouting.

"At least we were trying. You were just … what … running?" Rick said, looking at Kate's shoes. "That's boring."

"Yeah, because diving head first on the grass is so much better." she continued laughing.

He grumbled something she could not understand and it made her laugh even harder. At the same time, Rick looked for something in his backpack and took off his sweaty T-shirt. That was very effective at making her stop laughing. She just looked at his bare chest for a few seconds before he put on a clean T-shirt. He looked up and caught her staring.

"See something you like Kate?" he asked, grinning.

"What? Uh … no." she said, blushing and going to sit near Alexis.

"Come on, I saw you. Admit it. You just couldn't resist my toned chest."

"Kate, is your daddy still sick?" Alexis asked, changing the subject, much to Kate's relief.

"Yes, he is still sick. But he will get better soon." Kate answered, trying to convince herself as well as Alexis.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

At seven o'clock, Kate found herself in the park for the second time of the day. She had somehow been convinced by Rick and Alexis to come and have a diner picnic with them that night. The two Castles were already waiting for her on what they called "the rollerblades incident spot" when she arrived, carrying a bag with home-made cupcakes for the dessert. Alexis was wearing a green plaid summer dress and was playing with her braided hair, her feet swinging under the bench. Rick was dressed in black jeans, a white short-sleeved shirt and sunglasses. With both his arms stretched along the back of the bench, he looked … hot. When he caught sight of her walking towards them, he smiled and stood up. Alexis had seen her too and skipped to her and took her hand. Rick picked up the basket he had prepared and joined them.

"You look great Kate." he said, smiling at her softly.

"Yes, your dress is really pretty." Alexis added.

"Thank you, but it's just an old dress I dug out from my closet. Yours looks much better Alexis." Kate said, blushing at the compliments.

"Must be the woman and not the dress then." Rick said, making Kate go even more red.

"Ok, so, where do you want to eat?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Usual spot?" Alexis asked her father.

"Usual spot." he simply answered.

Alexis let go of Kate's hand and run off. Kate looked at Rick with surprise.

"Don't worry, she knows where she is going. So, what did you do today?" he asked while they continued walking to the 'usual spot'.

"Oh, nothing much. Chores. Laundry, grocery shopping … and I made cupcakes for dessert." Kate said, pointing to the bag she was carrying. "What did _you_ do?"

"When we got home it was time for lunch so we ate. Then I wrote for a while when Alexis was taking a nap and then we went to the hospital to visit my mother. She's being discharged tomorrow. And then we went back home and got prepared for our picnic." he answered. "Is your father really going to be ok?" he asked after a few seconds. "You didn't seem really convinced this morning when you answered Alexis. I hope it's not too serious."

Kate didn't answer and closed her eyes.

"You don't have to answer. I'm sorry I asked, just forget about it." Rick said.

"No, it's ok. It's just … so fresh. And the outcomes depends entirely on him. There's nothing anyone can do if he does not want it to change." Kate explained. "We … um … we lost my mother four years ago and apparently he started drinking after that. I was at his place on Friday night for dinner when he collapsed so I brought him to the ER. They detected his alcoholism through the different tests they made. I haven't talked to him since then."

She didn't know why she was telling all this to a person she had met just a few days before but it felt good. Really good.

"Is that why you were crying in the hallway yesterday?" Rick asked tentatively.

"Yeah. I went to see him but he just ignored me. I wrote him a letter basically asking him to choose between me and alcohol."

"Are you going to be ok?" he asked, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah. I'll just do whatever I have to do to help him. But let's not talk about that tonight. Where is your usual spot?" Kate asked, changing the subject.

Rick smiled and took her by the hand, leading her out of the path.

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**Any thought? Commentaries?**


	5. Chapter 5

When Kate went to bed that night, she had the biggest smile on her face. The evening had been perfect. They had talked, laughed, played with Alexis … she had not felt this carefree for a long time. Rick Castle had once more managed to get her to forget her problems and simply enjoy the present moment. He had also been very respectful when she had told him she did not want to talk about her father. She couldn't help but think about the differences between the public Rick Castle and Rick, the nice guy who didn't care what people think of him as long as his daughter is happy. When she was with him, she didn't see any trace of his public persona. But after he kissed her that night, she couldn't help but think that Richard Castle had kissed her, making her giggle in her pillow. Ok, it was just a peck on the cheek to tell her goodnight before they left the park but still! Richard Castle had kissed her and she felt … she didn't know how she felt. It was still so new and unexpected. How could she, Katherine Beckett, 23, have ever imagined talking to Richard Castle, best-selling author and more than handsome young man of 30? Let alone being kissed by him! Except in her dreams, she had been pretty sure it would never happen. And yet it did … and she fell asleep while replaying the picnic in her head.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Early afternoon the following day, Kate went to the hospital where she had an appointment with her father's doctor. She arrived earlier than necessary but the doctor was available. Before she had time to explain what she had come for, he started talking.

"Miss Beckett. Your father was discharged this morning, all his tests were good enough to let him go home." he said, smiling.

"What? He's gone? Already?"

"Yes. There was nothing more we could do for him here. Except from his problem with alcohol, he is perfectly fine for a man his age. He left a letter to be posted to you at the reception when he left." he said. "If you're lucky, you'll catch it before it goes to the post office." he added, looking at his watch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have several patients to see." he finished, shaking her hand and leaving the office.

Kate went to the reception, trying not to run there to find out what her father had left for her. It had to be a good sign, right? If he had chosen to go home and drink again, he wouldn't have left her something. Right? When she arrived, Kate realized that it was nurse Parish who was at the desk. She seemed even happier and livelier than the two times they met. It was kind of scary.

"Hello. Dr. Morrison said my father left something for me here?" Kate said.

"Hey! Yes. It's Beckett right?" Lanie said, searching in a stack of letters that would be going to the post. "So, how are you feeling?" she asked, handing Kate an envelop.

"I'm fine, thanks." Kate answered, hesitating before opening it.

"If you want some privacy, you can go in the room over there," Lanie said, pointing at a door behind Kate.

"Thanks." Kate said, truly surprised by the kind gesture.

She walked to the room Lanie had pointed at and opened the door slowly, as if she expected someone to yell at her for being here. When she saw that the room was empty, she went and sat on the bed. She looked at the envelop for a few minutes before actually opening it. Inside this envelop was a decision that would change her life. Either her father did not want to change his habits and she would consider herself as an orphan, or he did want help, and her help, and her life would change anyway. She knew that whatever was written inside, it would be hard.

If he didn't want help, she would be left alone, but it was more than that. She would be alone by her own fault. She had chosen not to stand by him if he didn't quit drinking and that made her feel like a very bad daughter. Who could just abandon their father when they needed them the most? But she knew her father well. He was stubborn, really stubborn. Unfortunately for her, she had inherited this trait of character from him, and she knew that if he refused help, she would never see him again until he changed, even if it would kill her inside.

If he asked for help, it would be hard because she would do anything she could to help him. She was not a person to do things by half. Either she was in all the way or she was not at all. There was no middle ground for Kate Beckett. And she would be so supportive of her father that he would probably hate her by the end of his treatment. It would be a good test for him though: resist the want to drink to forget his tyrannic daughter.

She laughed at her thought and finally decided to open the envelop and face whatever her father had to tell her.

"_Katie, _

_I'm so sorry for what happened the other day when you came to visit. And also for telling the doctors not to let you come and see me after you brought me here. I can't even express how sorry I am, for this and for the whole thing. Ever since your mother died, I wasn't really myself, as I'm sure you've noticed. I'm not trying to make excuses, far from it. The other day, it was like the roles were reversed: you were the parent and I was the petulant child, pretending not to hear you. You have absolutely every right to hate me right now Katie. I haven't been a good father these four past year. Hell, I haven't been a father at all!You deserve so much better than what I have been giving you for four years …_

_I can't tell you how much your letter touched me. I have to admit, it was horrible to read and I could hear your voice saying it out loud and scolding me, yelling at me. And the saddest thing is that I often thought of what you would think if you found out about my addiction. I'm so sorry that you had to discover it in such circumstances. I know there are no ideal circumstances for such an announcement but I guess, deep down I hoped you would never know and find out what a coward I am._

_But everything is going to change now. I promise you I'll do everything I can to be worthy again in your eyes. It may take some time to get really clean, and I'm sure it will be really hard but I will do it, for you and for me. I swear to you I'll never touch a glass of alcohol ever again. I talked with a nurse here and she said she knew a very good rehab center where a friend of her's worked. And she said they could take me as soon as Tuesday morning. I called them this morning and they are waiting for me. I won't be allowed any visitors during the first month but there is no need to worry about me. I'll be in good hands. I'll give you the address as soon as I'm settled there. I would love it if I could get some news from you from time to time but I'd completely understand if you don't want to talk or write to me._

_I promise I won't disappoint you anymore and I'll bring your daddy back._

_I love you, _

_Dad."_

By the time she had finished reading, Kate was in tears. And judging by the stains on the letter, Jim had also cried while writing it. Kate let a deep breath out, relieved that her father had made the good choice.

She was brought out of her thoughts when the door of the room opened. Lanie came in slowly.

"Are you ok? You've been here for half an hour. I was starting to bet worried." she said, looking at Kate with concern.

"I'm fine. Well, I more than fine actually. This may be one of the best days of my life."

"Wow. And maybe it's going to get better. You know who is at the reception desk paying for his mommy's stay? Your savior Richard Castle." Lanie said, smirking.

Kate jumped off the bed and got out of the room. When she saw him at the desk, she called for him and ran to him. He had just had time to turn around to see who was yelling his name when she jumped into his arms and kissed him. Hard. Right on the lips. Blinded by her happiness to know that her father was going to get better, she did not realize what she was doing. It seemed … normal. However, when she felt his hands on her, she was brought back to reality. She backed away quickly, eyes wide, whispered a "I'm so sorry!" and ran out the door, leaving both Lanie and Rick mouths open, eyes wide and completely dumbfounded.

* * *

**So, here you have chapter 5! What did you think of it?**


	6. Chapter 6

Kate didn't stop running until she was sure he was not following her. Why did she kiss him? WHY? Sure, she was happy after having read her father's letter but was it a good reason to run into the arms of a man she had met three days before and kiss him? She was not so sure. She didn't have time to think more about it because her cell phone rang. There had been a murder, she was needed at the scene and she still had to go back home and put her uniform on.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

As a matter of fact, she didn't have time to think about the kiss for a few days, due to a very big and very complex case. But when she went home on this Thursday night, she couldn't help but feeling proud. She had been the one to close the case. She had been the one to see that the dates were not matching and therefore destroy the alibi of the prime suspect. She had even been congratulated by the Captain, in person! She had seen him looking at her often in the past few weeks. It was frightening because she knew she just couldn't make any mistakes, but at the same time it was flattering because it meant that she good at her job and getting his attention.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by her chirping cell phone. It was a message from Madison, one of her few remaining friends from high school … whose birthday party was the following day!

"_Just to remind you, pick you up at 9, SHORT dress compulsory."_

Yeah … she had completely forgotten. OK, planning! Right now, she was going to sleep, she really needed to sleep. The following day would be just paperwork so she should be finished by 4 or 5. They she'd run to the mall and buy a dress, and that will hopefully leave her enough time to eat something and get ready. With this settled, she collapsed on her bed and fell asleep immediately.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

The following day ended much earlier than expected. The paperwork was done by lunchtime and everything was filed. Kate was going to get tout to find something to eat when Captain Montgomery called her in his office.

"Officer Beckett, my office please." he called from his doorstep.

Kate was really surprised.

"Yo Beckett, what did you do?" her colleague Javier Esposito asked form his desk.

She shrugged and headed to the Captain's office. It would either go really well … or really bad. He did not call people in his office for nothing. And when it was case-related, he usually went to see the investigators at their desks, not call them in.

"You wanted to see me Sir?" Kate asked before entering the office.

"Yes, Officer Beckett. Please come in, take a seat." Montgomery said, smiling.

Kate sat on the chair he designated and tried to get comfortable. She was not really of a stressful type but still … being alone with the Captain in his office was impressive.

"So, I heard you did an impressive job on the Mitchell case, Officer Beckett."

"Just trying to do my best, Sir." Kate answered, trying not to blush.

"But your best was still better than what my Detective could do. I have to say, I'm really impressed by you Beckett. You seem so … professional and mature for your age."

"Thank you, Sir."

"So, I've been watching you for a while and I have a proposition to make. What would you think about moving up Detective?"

"Detective? But Sir … I thought there was an age limit. 25? That's in two years for me Sir."

"I know. But the thing is … Detective Habbot is retiring next month and I need a new detective. And you're the best candidate in this precinct. Now, as for the age limit, it has been done before. A certain Victoria Gates has the record so far. You'd beat her. If you accept, of course."

"It … it would be an honor Sir, really." Kate said, completely lost in the conversation. "But … is there so kind of training I have to do? Because … uh … I don't want to be disrespectful or anything but … uh … I really need the money Sir. I can't afford to take an unpaid formation."

"Don't worry about that Beckett. You will be trained by Detective Habbot for two months after his official retirement date. And during that time, you'll keep your officer salary, which is normal since you'll still be working as an officer." Montgomery explained. "So can I count on you? I'm sorry it's such short notice but I'll need your answer before Monday so, here is my home phone number. Call me when you made your decision."

"It's not necessary Sir, I'm in. I don't need to think about it. It's really an honor Sir, thank you so much!" Kate said, getting up and shaking his hand enthusiastically.

"Ok, great!" Montgomery exclaimed, really happy to have recruiting such a promising new detective. "Now, you're on call this weekend, is that correct?"

"Yes Sir."

"Take the weekend off, I'll see that nobody calls you, except for cases of extreme emergencies of course. Now, on Monday, we have a new officer coming in, an officer … Ryan," Montgomery said, looking at some piece of paper on his desk. "Would you mind showing him around and taking him with you and Esposito for the time being?"

"No, of course not Sir, it will be a pleasure." Kate said, still not sure of what was happening.

"Great, now go home and enjoy your free weekend, these will get less numerous once your a detective." Montgomery laughed. "Oh and come by my office on Monday morning, I'll have some forms for you to sign."

"Ok. Thanks again Sir. Really." Kate said, going out of the office.

When she closed the door, a huge smile appeared on her face and she walked to her desk.

"So, what did he want?" Esposito asked, appearing next to her.

"I uh … do you mind if I tell you later? I don't really want to talk about it until it's official." Kate said.

"Sure." Esposito answered. "With that smile you got on your face, at least I'm sure it's good anyway." he laughed, going back to his desk to finish his paperwork.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

After a quick lunch at Remy's, Kate went to the mall in search of the short dress required by Madison for her birthday party. What she didn't know was that she wouldn't be looking at dresses by herself. She had just entered the mall when she found herself face to face with none other than Richard Castle, which made her blush furiously.

"Hello Rick." she said simply.

"Hey. What? You're not kissing me today?" Rick laughed.

Seeing that Kate was more than uncomfortable with the situation, he let it drop.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I uh … I need to find a dress for a birthday party tonight." she said.

"Tonight? And you're only looking for it now?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah well … I kind of forgot about it." Kate admitted.

"Well, let's get to work then, we need to get you the perfect dress." Rick said, taking her by the arm and leading her towards the escalators.

"We?"

"Yes, we, as in you and me. Don't look at me like that. You know that there is no way you'll be finding the perfect dress by yourself in this huge place. You'll need an extra pair of eyes. Come on, I'm not taking no for an answer."

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Kate was getting ready for Madison's birthday party when someone knocked on her door. It was a messenger carrying a box. She signed for it and put it on her table. When she opened it, her breath was cut off. It was a dress. THE dress that she'd been looking at while Rick was choosing ties. It was way above her price range but it was so beautiful, and so perfect for a birthday party at a club! AND, it was calling her name in the shop window. Rick must have seen her before leaving the tie store. She couldn't believe he had bought it for her. She brought it to her bedroom and laid it on her bed, next to the dress _she_ had bought. Her eyes moved form one to the other, comparing. On one side was a simple yet classy little black dress, nothing too much but with the right jewelery, shoes and accessories, it would look really great. On the other side was a simply stunning short strapless purple dress which was just … perfect for the occasion and would go perfectly with her new heels. And it was a gift. It would be rude not to accept it. Right?

After a dinner at a really nice restaurant, Kate, Madison and her group of friends move to a new nightclub, the Club 5. After a few minutes of talking and dancing, a waiter handed her a folded piece of paper. Curious, she opened it, blushed furiously and looked around her.

"_I knew this dress would look amazing on you. RC."_

* * *

**here is what I imagined Kate's dress to be:** www**_._**dillards**_._**com/product/Teeze-Me-Strapless-Dress_301_-1_301_503218056?cm_mmc=Linkshare-_-J84DHJLQkR4-_-null-_-null&linkshare= _**(**_**_dot)_**com/affiliate_  
_


	7. Chapter 7

When Kate saw him sitting at the bar, looking at her with a big smile on his face, she blushed furiously. Why was he here? Now he would know that she absolutely loved the dress he had bought her. Well, given the look on his face as she walked to him, he loved it too. On her way over to him, she was stopped by two or three guys that wanted to dance with her but she just pushed them away. Arriving at Rick's side, Kate slid the piece of paper back to him.

"Don't know how to go and talk to a girl directly Mr. Castle?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Well, I figured I would let you decide if you wanted to come and see me. The dress looks absolutely perfect on you Kate."He said, looking at her from head to toe. "Your legs go on forever." he whispered to himself.

"What?" Kate asked, not having heard what he had said because of the music.

"Uh ... nothing." he answered quickly, blushing a bit. "Can I buy you a drink? Maybe we could go in a calmer area and talk for a while." he suggested.

"Sure." she said, smiling sweetly at him.

Once they had ordered their drinks, they moved to the end of the room where there were more secluded booths. As they had to cross the dance floor to get there, Rick took her hand in his, "just so I don't lose you" he told her. Strangely enough, he didn't let go of it when they were in the clear, and led her to an empty booth.

"So, what brought you here Rick?" Kate asked once they were settled.

"Oh well, Paula had been harassing me for a few weeks now to be been at a nightclub. 'Someone' told her that this one was good so … And Alexis is sleeping at her friend Paige's tonight so I figured if I indulged her this one time, Paula would be off my back for a while." He explained, smiling.

"Did you have to bring a date?" Kate asked, slightly uncomfortable.

"Yeah." Rick grumbled. "But I left her to dance like five minutes after we arrived. She is just so boring and … well … kind of rude too."

"Oh, what did she do to make you have such a high esteem of her?" Kate asked, laughing to try and mask her satisfaction.

"Well, first of all, in the cab on the way over here, all she could talk about was make up and hair do, it was horrible!" Rick said, still shocked if his face was any indication.

"Well, she's a girl." Kate simply said.

"You're a girl too and you can talk about other things. We talked about police stuff, books … hell we even talked about gardening the other night. All she was able to tell me was that she had spent three hours getting ready for our so called date, just to put her make up on! And then, we arrived and enter the club and suddenly she grabs me drags me in the middle of the crowd."

"Well, this is a night club. You're suppose to dance." Kate remarked.

"Yes, I know that, thank you." Rick answered. "But she didn't want to dance she wanted … I don't even know how to call it. First she groped my ass as if it was the most natural thing in the world and then she used me as a stripper pole!"

At that, Kate almost spit out the drink she had just taken.

"Right? That's not normal human behavior!"

"I think she just wanted to go back home with you, Rick." Kate said, trying to hide her harsh tone.

"Yes, I know, but there is no way in hell I'm letting someone like her in my home. I mean, she could kill me in my sleep after she used me, steal my daughter and bring her up to be just like her..."

"I think you're getting ahead of yourself here Ricky, your writer imagination is overflowing." Kate laughed, taking his hand on the table.

"Yeah, that happens sometimes … often in fact." he said, laughing as well.

Silence fell over them , Rick caressing Kate's hand unconsciously.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked again suddenly.

"Sure." Kate said, smiling.

" What … uh … why did you kiss me the other day?" he asked quietly, silently praying for her not to take her hand back and leave.

"I'm sorry about that, really. I don't know what happened and ..."

"Don't be sorry Kate. It was nice … even if it was mostly surprising." he said, smiling at her.

Kate still felt embarrassed and was looking at the table, at the dance floor, at the bar … pretty much everywhere but at Rick.

"I'm serious Kate. I'm not mad at all. The only reason why I didn't react was because I was surprised. To be honest, I might have wanted to kiss you once or twice when we were having the picnic in the park."

"Stop making fun of me." Kate said, still not looking at him.

"I'm not, I swear Kate. In fact, I kind of want to kiss you now." Rick said seriously.

That made Kate look up, eyes wide open. "What?"

"I'm going to kiss you. Now." Rick repeated.

Time seemed to slow down for Kate. He was going to kiss her. And she was most definitely not be doing anything to prevent that. She could feel him getting closer rather than see him. One of his hands was still caressing hers on the table, the other was on the sofa of the booth, next to her thigh. She could feel his breath on her face. Oh God, he was really going to kiss her!

"Hey Becks we're goin … oh sorry, I didn't know you were with … uh, I'm sorry. Kylie and I are leaving. Robin and Chelsea already left. Enjoy your night. Again, sorry for interrupting." Madison said, walking away as fast as possible.

If a glare could kill, she would have been dead at least a dozen times. Kate turned back to Rick only to find him still there, really close to her.

"I'm sorry about that, I uh ..."

Her excuse was cut short by Rick's lips on hers.

* * *

**So ... tell me ... what did you think of this chapter?**


	8. Chapter 8

Rick had walked Kate up to her door and was having trouble letting go of her.

"Are you sure you need to sleep?" he asked, almost whining, his hands on her hips.

"Rick, it's seven in the morning!" Kate laughed, letting him kiss her once more.

"Then we should go out for breakfast." Rick proposed.

"Rick, we just came back from dinner … or whatever it is at 4 in the morning. Tonight was amazing but I really need to sleep. I was at work at 8 yesterday and I'm dead on my feet."Kate said, moaning when Rick started kissing her bare shoulder. "And, you have to go pick up Alexis at her friend's before lunch so you should get some sleep."

"Can I sleep here? Please?"

"Rick … I'm tired."

"No, just sleep, I swear. I just want to stay with you, I don't want to let you go just yet." he said, looking at her seriously.

"Ok, come on." Kate said, fishing her keys from her purse. "But I'll have you know Mr. Castle that I sleep with a gun in the nightstand so if you don't want Alexis to lose her father, you'll keep your hands to yourself."

"Got it."

They went in together and moved directly to the bedroom. Kate was too tired to realize that she had just let a man she had met a week before sleep in her bed. But still, it was Rick. Everything was different with Rick. Even the first kiss … kisses … they had a hard time stopping once they started at the club. They stayed there for a while, dancing and kissing, then they went to a diner to get their energy back and ended up talking for more than two hours. And now they were in her apartment, in her bedroom, getting ready for bed. Rick stripped to his T-shirt and boxers and set his phone to go off at 11 while Kate was in the bathroom getting ready for bed. They didn't talk when she came back, they just settled in bed, Kate cuddling in his side, and fell asleep.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When Rick's phone went off, he searched for it blindly. Once he had turned it off, he finally opened his eyes and realized that he was not at home. The night he had spent with Kate came back to him and he smiled. He smiled even more when he felt her head on his chest, he hair tickling his neck. By the way she was breathing, he could tell that she was waking up.

"Kate, I have to go." he whispered.

"No. Stay." she grumbled in his T-shirt, her voice rough with sleep.

"I have to go get Alexis." he continued.

Reluctantly, Kate rolled off of him and to her side of the bed.

"Can I use your shower really quick?"

"Sure." She said, smiling.

"God, you're so beautiful." Rick said, bending to kiss her.

"Rick, I'm not beautiful. At least not right now. I'm wearing an oversized T-shirt and shorts, my hair is a mess and since I didn't take the time to remove my make up before going to bed, I certainly look like a panda." She laughed.

"Well, you're lucky then, I happen to really like pandas." he said, kissing her once more before getting out of the bed and into the bathroom.

As soon as the door closed, Kate buried her head in her pillow and giggled. She could not help it. She had slept with Richard Castle. Well, not 'slept with' just slept in the same bed as him. Her bed. This simple fact had her imagination in overdrive with what might have happened in this bed if she hadn't been so tired when they came back. She was not the type of girl to sleep with a guy after the first date (well, it hasn't even been a date, it was just a … happy coincidence) but with Rick, all was different. She felt so good with him, she felt safe, she felt … like she was back to being her true self. It was a really strange sensation, but it felt really good. She turned back in the bed when she heard he door of the bathroom open. Here he was, his hair wet, and wearing only a towel low on his waist.

"I … uh … I forgot to take my clothes." he said, looking at her.

"Don't worry about it. But if you don't get dressed really soon, you'll be late to get Alexis." Kate said before blushing when she heard what she had said.

"Wow, that was a direct approach Miss Beckett." he laughed, gathering his clothes and heading back in the bathroom.

When he came back again, Kate was still in her bed. He sat down next to her.

"Would you come to dinner at my place tonight? Alexis had asked about you everyday since the picnic. I even think she prefers you to me." Rick asked, pouting.

"I'd like to see her again. But I don't know where you live." Kate remarked. "Hell, I don't even have your phone number." she laughed.

"Well, that can be solved." Rick said, taking her cell phone from the bedside table and putting his number in it. "There, now you have it and you can text me or call me whenever you want." he continued, kissing her softly. "And I can give you my address. Will you come?"

"Yes, sure. Do you want me to bring anything?"

"No. Just bring your cute self and we'll be fine. Oh, and this might end up in a movie night, just so you know."

"Ok, I'll be there. What time?"

"Whenever you want."

"What time?" she repeated.

"Ok, let's say … 5 or 6. That's good for you?"

"Yes, sure. I'll be there. Now go before I pull you back in here." Kate said seriously, pushing him off her bed.

"Ok, I'm going, I'm going. Please don't hurt me." he laughed.

He put his shoes on and kissed her deeply.

"See you tonight gorgeous." he said before leaving the bedroom.

When he opened the front door, he came face to face with Madison who looked like she was going to knock.

"Hey, nice to see you again." Rick mumbled, embarrassed, before going to the elevator.

He was not in it yet when he heard Madison yell "Katherine Beckett!" and the door slam.

* * *

**I would love to hear (or rather read) your thoughts about this one !**


	9. Chapter 9

When Kate knocked on Rick's door that evening, she heard Alexis come to the door running. At least she hoped it was Alexis. She couldn't help but laugh, imagining Rick running to open the door. When the door opened, Alexis yelled "Kate!" and jumped in her arms.

"Hey Alexis! I take it you're happy to see me?" Kate laughed, walking inside and closing the door behind them.

When she turned to the loft, she stopped. This place was HUGE! She was sure she could fit her apartment twice in here.

"Kate, hey!" Rick said, coming from what she assumed to be the kitchen considering he was wearing an apron.

"Hey!" she said, not knowing what to do.

Was she supposed to kiss him with his daughter in her arms? Did he tell her something about the night before? She had her answer when he kissed her quickly on the lips, causing Alexis to giggle.

Kate put Alexis back on the floor.

"What are you cooking? It's smell absolutely delicious." she said, walking after him in the loft.

"Ah! That's for me to know and for you to find out. But you're not allowed to help."

"You're with me until dinner and then you're with daddy." Alexis said

"Oh, you've divided up my time with you?" Kate asked, looking at Rick.

"Yes, daddy said we had to share because we both wanted to spend time with you." Alexis answered.

"Yeah, so we shared you. That's the problem with being so popular." Rick reasoned.

"Yeah right." Kate said. "So, Miss Alexis, what do you want to do while your father is cooking us dinner?"

"We can read a book." she proposed.

"You already know how to read?" Kate asked, surprised.

"Yes!" Alexis exclaimed, really proud. "But just the one for little children."

"Well, that's great because I love children books. I think they're the best!" Kate said, smiling to the girl.

"Hey! What about my books?" Rick asked, pretending to be hurt.

"Well, they're ok too." Kate smiled before letting Alexis pull her to her books in the living room.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When Rick went to the living room to tell his girls dinner was ready, he stopped in the doorway and looked at the scene in front of him. Kate was sitting on the couch, Alexis standing in front of her and she was braiding her hair. And Alexis was giving her her opinions of each Disney Princess. Kate was going along, asking questions and agreeing with Alexis that Cinderella was the best princess.

This was what Rick wanted for his daughter. A real family. With a mommy, a daddy and lots of children. For the first time in a while, Alexis seemed to be accepting a new female in her family. It had been three years since Meredith had left and she had been having a hard time with women since then. The only one she really accepted was her grandmother, and still, it had been hard at first. She was scared she would go too. And now she was letting Kate brush her hair even though she had known her for barely a week and met her only twice! This was huge.

Rick was pulled out of his thoughts when Alexis caught sight of him.

"Daddy, look at what Kate did, she painted my nails!" Alexis said excitedly, showing him her little hands. "And she did my hair too!" she continued, turning around so that he could see. "She's the best!"

"Yeah she is." he answered without thinking, making Kate blush. "Hey, why don't you go wash your hands, dinner's ready." he continued.

"I hope that's ok Rick, she said she wanted some nail polish and ..." Kate started.

"She's right you know, you are the best." Rick said, smiling.

Before she had time to reply, he was kissing her passionately.

"I've wanted to do that since you came in through that door." Rick said, trying to get his breathing back to a normal rhythm.

Kate smiled and buried herself in his chest, felling safe and at home in his arms. For once, she didn't hear any little voices telling her it was to fast, too serious, or that he was not the right one. It sounded crazy, even to herself, but he felt like he was the right one, even if they had met only a week before, even if he had a daughter. She had never pictured herself, at 23, dating a man who had a child.

They stayed there, in each other's arms until Alexis came back with clean hands.

"Come on Ladies, your dinner's waiting." Rick announced, backing away from Kate bu taking one of her hands to lead her to the dining room. On the way to the table, Kate saw a framed picture of the two Castles and a famous actress on the mantlepiece of the fake chimney. She stopped instantly and reached for it.

"Oh my God, you have a picture with Martha Rodgers! I love her! My mom used to take me to all her plays. She has so much talent! Once we went to see … what?" Kate asked when she saw both Rick and Alexis laughing.

"Well, she's uh... how can I say that without you freaking out … uh … she's ..." Rick started.

"She's Gram!" Alexis exclaimed.

"What?" Kate asked, looking at Rick, certain she had not heard right.

"Well, she's my mother."

"Martha Rodgers is your mother?" Kate asked again.

"Yes."

"How come I did not know that? I love you both as artists and I didn't even know you were related!" Kate said, eyes wide open.

"Well, now you know, so be prepared to meet her one day because she has a tendency to drop by unannounced and usually with a very bad timing." Rick said, going to the kitchen to take their dinner from the stove.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Once Alexis was in bed – after having been read a story by Kate, she had insisted on that – Kate and Rick were cuddled on the couch, watching a movie none of them were paying attention to.

"Oh, I meant to ask you, how did it go with your friend this morning. She seemed king of … shocked … when I left your apartment." Rick inquired.

"Oh, she was horrible. She literally jumped on me in the bed and wanted to know what happened." Kate grumbled.

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing. Madison is not really the kind of friend you confide in … unless you want everyone to now about it. She's nice and all but she just can't keep anything to herself."

"Why is she your friend then?" Rick asked, confused.

"Oh she's nice and fun, that's not the problem. She's a good friend, she was the first to come to me when my mother … uh … died … but she's not best friend material."

"Do you have a best friend? Because I can be yours if you want." Rick proposed, realizing how childish he sounded

"Thanks, but I already have that covered." Kate laughed.

"Tell me about her."

"Well _his_ name is Javier Esposito and ..."

"Wait, wait, wait. He's a guy? Your best friend is a guy?"

"Yes, why? Is that a problem?" she asked, glaring at him.

"No, not at all, why would it be a problem?" he asked innocently."So, who is this Javier?"

"I met him at the Academy, we were in the same class. I … I joined just after I lost my mother and he was the only one talking to me. The others were basically just ignoring me, but it didn't bother me, I didn't really want to talk to anyone, I just wanted to do my things and get it over with. He sat with me every day at breakfast, lunch and dinner, I guess after a while we just started talking and getting closer. He works with me at the 12th now, we're even on the same team."

"That's great. But … tell me … how close did the two of you get?" Rick asked.

"Why? Do I detect some jealousy Mr. Castle?"

"No … Yes … maybe ..." Rick admitted, playing with her hand."

"He's just my best friend Rick, he's like my brother, there's nothing more … oh God that would be weird." Kate laughed. "And don't be jealous not to be my best friend, I prefer you to be another king of friend." she continued, getting closer to him.

"What kind of friend?" he asked, knowing exactly what she meant but wanting her to say it out loud.

"You really want me to ask you like if we were … I don't know … 14?"

"Yes, I do." Rick answered, smiling brightly.

"Ok then, Richard Castle, would you like to be my _boy_friend?"

"Yes, I'd like that very much." he answered, taking her head between his hands and bringing her to him.

Things heated up rather quickly and soon they were laying down on the couch, Kate on top of Rick, and hands were starting to travel under pieces of clothing. It was all cut short, however, when the front door of the loft opened and footsteps came their way.

"What did I tell you, very bad timing." Rick whispered in Kate's ear, while she tried to hide between him and the back of the couch.

* * *

**Thoughts? Commentaries?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Just a message for lv2bnsb1, if you really hate this story that much, I have a suggestion: just don't read it.**

**There are stories that I don't like, I just don't keep reading them.  
**

**Your reviews are still welcome if the become in the least constructive.  
**

**Thank you anyway, you make the number of reviews go up for this story, you'll be happy to know that YOU were the one to make it go over the 100-review stage!  
**

**For everyone else: ENJOY this STORY ;-)  
**

* * *

This lunch turned into the whole afternoon spent at the science museum with the two Castles. At the end of the day, she couldn't tell which was the child and which was the parent, but what she could tell was that she hadn't had such a nice day out in a long time. They had gone back to her place afterward because Alexis wanted to try on the hat from her uniform – a request to which Rick hadn't been able to resist, asking her privately if she would model her uniform for him. That made her realize that she hadn't tell him about the promotion yet.

The next morning, when she was getting ready to go to the precinct, for the first time since she started working as a cop, Kate felt like she would prefer to stay home. Well, not home. With Rick and Alexis. But it was her job, and if Captain Montgomery had the paperwork ready, it was going to be even more interesting.

When she arrived at the precinct, she saw Montgomery in his office with a young man. As soon as he noticed her, Montgomery waved her to come in his office.

"Beckett, here is Officer Ryan. I trust you to show him around and make him feel welcome in the team." Montgomery said.

"No problem Sir." Kate said, smiling

Both officers got out of the Captain's office and Kate led the new guy to her desk and Esposito's.

"Hey Espo! This is … uh ..."

"Kevin Ryan."

"Yeah. He'll be working with us from now on. Ryan, this is Javier Esposito."

After the introductions, Kate gave Ryan a tour of the precinct. Before she had time to finish though, a detective asked them to go to the morgue and get some files for him, which was the occasion to show it to Ryan. What Kate did not expect to find there was … Lanie Parish.

"What are you doing here?" Kate asked, not bothering with 'hellos'.

"Hello to you too. I'm great, and you?" Lanie said, smiling.

"No, seriously, what are you doing here?"

"I finally got that internship I wanted. I was just working at the hospital until I got in here. I got a year-long internship and if I'm good, they'll keep me." Lanie explained, almost jumping with excitement.

"Well, that's great. Here is Officer Kevin Ryan, he's new here too. Well, I guess we'll see each other around." Kate said, turning to the door to leave.

"Hey there, wait a minute! How is writer boy?" Lanie asked.

"Who's writer boy?" Ryan asked.

"He's her boyfriend." Lanie almost chanted.

"He's fine. Now let us go back to work." Kate answered, blushing furiously.

"Oh, this must have been good for you to go red like that!" Lanie smirked.

"Shut up." was all Kate found to reply, charging through the door to leave.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

At the end of their shift, Kate, Esposito and Ryan decided to get together around a drink to get to know each other better. If they were to work together as a team, it was important that they knew each other and that they trusted each other. Since they were hungry, they opted for dinner at Remy's. When they arrived there, Kate had hardly passed the door that she had a little redhead attached to her legs.

"Hey Alexis. What are you doing here?" Kate asked, picking her up.

"Daddy was too lazy to cook dinner so we came here." she explained. "He's over there with that woman from the hospital." she said, pointing at a table toward the back of the diner.

Sure enough, there were Rick, looking at her with a genuine smile on his face, and Lanie, wearing a malicious look on her face.

Kate started to walk towards them when she remembered Esposito and Ryan.

"Kate, why didn't you tell me you had a gorgeous daughter?" Espo asked, trying to tickle the little girl.

"She's not my mommy." Alexis laughed, trying to get away from him but still in Kate's arms. "She's my daddy's girlfriend." she said proudly.

"Girlfriend, uh … I think we need to talk Kate." Espo said, looking serious.

"Stop being stupid and let's go join them." Kate said, walking to the table.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

They had a really good time all together, acting as if they had known each other for ever even if Kate and Javier had been the only ones to meet more than a week before. Ryan was a bit shy at the beginning but he easily mixed in. After Alexis had been picked up by one of her friends' mother for a sleep over - "that's what summer holidays are for Kate!" Rick had said when she made him notice that she had already had a sleep over two nights before – the conversation had become a bit less kid-friendly, Kate and Rick being harassed with questions.

Around 10 o'clock, they left the diner, each of them heading home. Well, not really each of them. Rick and Kate were having trouble letting go of each other. And all the kissing next to her car wasn't helping much.

"Come home with me." Kate said after a particularly passionate kiss that earned them some 'get a room' from passers-by. "We could finish what we started before your mother interrupted us the other day."

"Are … are you sure? I mean, I'd love to but I … I don't want to pressure you or anything." Rick said.

"I'm sure. I know it's … fast but … I really really like you Rick. And I'm the kind of girl who knows what she wants. And I want you." Kate said, kissing him one more time before going in her car, not having to wait more than five seconds for him to join her.

* * *

**So, here you have the whole gang together!**

**what did you think of this chapter?  
**


	11. Chapter 11

Over the next month, life flew by for Kate Beckett. Her love life was perfect, her professional life was really fulfilling, her family life was getting better, she had great friends … Everything was going well. It had not been the case for her for a long time.

Kate and Rick were doing great. The saw each other, or called when meeting up was not possible, everyday. The spend all their days off together with Alexis going to the park, the museum or just staying home watching movies. The end of the summer was approaching and the heat was simply unbearable, causing them to go out only in the evenings.

As far as work was concerned, Kate couldn't be happier. Detective Habbot had retired and was now teaching her on the different cases they worked. It would be like that until she turned 24 and then she would be left on her own. Strangely enough, that didn't scare her a bit. She was working with a great team and she knew she could count on them. Some cases were really basic and required no particular investigating but others were more complex and weirder … those were the ones Kate preferred. Esposito had started to call them the Beckett-flavored cases. Ryan was completely in the team now and he was good. The three of them completed each other and made them the most wanted team of uniforms with the detectives.

Her father was getting better. He had spent almost two months in a rehab center in the Hamptons now and he was really optimistic regarding his recovery. Kate had been allowed to call him after the first month but visits were forbidden in the first two months. She had told him everything about Rick and Alexis over the phone and, if Jim had some reserves about the relationship at the beginning, once he had spoken with Rick, everything had gone better. Kate didn't know what they told each other – and she probably never would – but all that mattered was that her father was accepting her relationship with Rick. She had found a new family in the Castle loft and she was staying there more and more frequently, to the point of having half his closet filled with her clothes.

All of this had created new links between Kate and people near her. She could now count Kevin Ryan and Lanie Parish as close friends while some of her old ones had been removed the friend card. Well … Madison had been removed the friend card. Kate could simply not stay on friendly terms with someone who had sold pictures of her as a child to a people magazine when her relationship with Rick had been made public. But Kate realized that it was not a great loss after all, that she could rely on her 'new' friends more than she ever could on Madison. She realized that she didn't know what real friendship was before. Contrary to her expectations, Kate had got really close with Lanie. As time went by, they discovered they had a lot in common and Lanie's enthusiasm for everything was refreshing. Kevin was a much calmer friend but he always knew what to say or what to do to make her feel better. And well … Javier was Javier.

Everything was going well, and she hoped that it would be so for a very long time.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Kate and Rick were still sleeping when Alexis came barging in the bedroom and started jumping on the bed, chanting "It's my birthday! It's my birthday! It's my birthday!"

Kate opened her eyes slowly and smiled at the girl while her father was pretending not to hear anything.

"Daddy, it's my birthday, you have to wake up and make me pancakes." Alexis said, still jumping on the bed.

Rick was fake-snoring now, making both girl laugh. Kate whispered something in Alexis's ear and they both dove on the poor man to tickle him until he was awake. That happened remarkably fast.

"Ok ok, I'm up. Happy birthday Sweetie." he said, taking her into his arms and kissing her.

"So, how old are you now?" Kate asked, smiling at the two of them.

"I'm six!" she exclaimed, showing six fingers and bouncing on her father's stomach.

"Wow, you're such a big girl now! You know what big girls do on their birthdays?" Kate asked.

"Eat pancakes with a whipped-cream 6 on it?" Alexis proposed.

"Yes, they do that." Kate laughed. "And, they go shopping for the whole afternoon."

"Without daddy?" Alexis asked excitedly.

"Without daddy." Kate confirmed. "Just the two of us, for the all afternoon. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great! Thank you so much Kate!" Alexis said, jumping form her father onto Kate. "And what are we doing this morning?" she asked, looking at Rick.

"Well, first we get out of this bed, then we have breakfast. After that you get your present and then we're going to the park." Rick said, sitting up in the bed.

"Are you coming with us to the park or do you have to go to work?" Alexis asked Kate.

"I'm going with you. I don't have to go to work for the next two weeks, it's my summer break."

"Yay! This is the best birthday ever!" Alexis yelled, jumping off the bed and running out of the room.

"Hey." Rick said, rolling until he could reach Kate to kiss her.

"Hi." she said, kissing him passionately.

"We should get out before she comes back and drag us out herself." Rick remarked, cuddling in Kate side.

"Don't worry, we'll have all the time tonight. She is going to be exhausted after the day we have planned for her."

"Are you staying the night?"

"If you'll accept me yes." she said, kissing him quickly before getting out of the bed.

"You know you can stay whenever you want, you don't have to leave. Ever." Rick said seriously.

"I know." Kate said, smiling at him before entering the bathroom.

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**So, what did you think?**

**Next chapter: shopping with Kate and Alexis !  
**


	12. Chapter 12

After having spent the morning in the park where Alexis had rode her new bike for a couple of hours, they decided to go to a restaurant for lunch. Alexis talked about her new bike all the way over there.

"It's so great daddy, I have a real bike now, not the ones for the small kids. And the helmet Kate got me is just so beautiful. I didn't know they made Cinderella helmets. And there is a bell on the bike and it's pink too, it's so beautiful ..."

Kate and Rick smiled and let her talk, apparently, she really did not expect to have a "big girl's bike" for her birthday. When she saw that they had stop in front of Serendipity, she squealed and jumped up in her car seat.

"Are we eating here daddy? This is so cool. I love it here. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is the best birthday ever!"Alexis yelled in the car.

"Ok, Alexis. Now calm down and let's go eat, I'm starving." Rick said, the girl instantly stopping.

They went inside, Alexis between Kate and Rick, holding the hand of each of them.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Once they were done eating, the two girls went their way for their shopping expedition.

"So," Kate started as the got to the mall, "What do you want to look at?"

"I … uh … I don't know. I've never been here before." Alexis said quite shyly.

"It's ok. You need a first time for everything right? What do you like the most?"

"Dolls and books." Alexis answered excitedly.

"Ok then, let's go look at dolls and books."Kate said, taking Alexis by the hand and leading her through the several shops.

Alexis seemed lost at first. There were so many things to look at, and everything was glittering and asking for attention. When they entered the book shop though, she was much more at ease and even asked the clerk where the books for little children were. The clerk smiled at her and led her to the section she wanted. She immediately starting perusing the shelves, looking at everything at the same time.

"Do you know what you are looking for Sweetie?" Kate asked

"The ones like Daddy writes."

"Detective stories then. I think they're over there." Kate said, pointing to a shelf behind her.

"How do I find one that I like?" Alexis asked, looking at all the books in the shelf.

"Didn't your dad tell you that?"

"No. He buys them for me when he thinks I will like them."

"Ok, so to choose a book, you take one with a title you like and you read the summary on the back cover. Ans then if you like the summary, there is a good chance you'll like the book too."

"Ok, I want to try … that one." Alexis said, pointing at a particular book.

Alexis could read but she was not a fast reader yet, so she asked Kate if she could read the summaries out loud so she could pick one more quickly. They spent about twenty minutes reading back covers and Alexis finally decided to pick a book. She had trouble choosing though.

"Can I take two? I don't know which one I prefer ..."

"I don't know. How much money did your father give you?" Kate asked.

"Uh … 50 dollars." Alexis said, looking in her small pink purse.

"Then yes, you have enough to take two. Which ones do you want?"

Once she had chosen, they went to the cash register where Alexis was proud to buy her first books by herself, with her own money while Kate waited from afar, smiling when she hear the little girl bid the clerk good afternoon. She was only 6 and she was already a small woman.

After the book shop, the two of them continued their exploration of the mall, looking at almost every window. They went into several clothing stores, music stores and ended their afternoon at the Disney Store. Before they left the mall to go back to the loft, they stopped at a coffee shop. They ordered hot cocoa and sat down at a table. Alexis was happy and talking about her books when all of a sudden she stopped talking. Kate looked up from her cup and saw that she looked sad.

"Hey, what's wrong Sweetie?" Kate asked, concerned by this sudden change of mood.

"Is shopping a thing that you do with your mother?" Alexis finally asked.

"Yes, sometimes." Kate answered, not really understanding what was happening. "Or you can go shopping with your friends. Or even by yourself if you want to, why?"

"I never went shopping with my Mommy." Alexis said sadly.

Uh-oh. Dangerous topic

"Can you be my Mommy?" she asked.

"Well, I can't be your Mommy because I didn't make you but I can do all the things you usually do with a mommy if you want." Kate tried to explain

"My Mommy doesn't like me."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true. Come on, who couldn't like such a perfect little girl as you?" Kate asked, starting to tickle her.

"She doesn't come to see me. It's always me and Daddy and sometimes Gram. But now there's you and I like you and you do all the things like the mommies."

"Well, I love you as if you were my daughter Alexis and if you want to do mommy-daughter things, you can ask me ok?"

"I love you more than my mommy, because you're nicer, and prettier, and Daddy loves you and … what?" Alexis asked, noticing Kate's wide eyes.

"Did he tell you that?" she asked.

"Yes. The other day he said you were going to come over for dinner and I said I was happy and I loved you and he said he loved you too. And he had a funny look on his face when he said it." Alexis giggled. "Is it bad that I told you?"

"Oh no, it's not bad at all Sweetie. But it's time to go now. Do you want to get face-painting. I say someone who does it near the entrance."

"Yeah! I love face painting! Can I be a butterfly?" Alexis asked excitedly, jumping down from her chair."

"Sure, let's make you a butterfly." Kate said, gathering their things and following her outside the coffee shop.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

On the way back to the loft, Alexis fell asleep in the car, never letting go of the books she bought. She had seemed so proud doing all of that by herself, Kate couldn't help but smile at the memory. She woke the girl up and they went up to the loft hand in hand. When they opened the front door, Alexis went running to her father, talking really quickly about everything she and Kate had seen and done during the afternoon, showing her books to her father before he had time to say anything. As Kate was going to talk, she heard someone clear their throat and both she and Alexis looked in the kitchen where the sound came from. There was Meredith, and she was not looking happy.

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**Any thoughts on this one?**


	13. Chapter 13

"Is that her?" Meredith asked on a disgusted tone.

"Yes, that's her, and she has a name. It's Kate." Rick answered, trying to remain calm.

"Hi, I'm Kate, and you must be Meredith." Kate said, trying to stay polite and introduce herself to Alexis's mother.

"Oh, look at her, she polite and all. You pick them young now Ricky." she laughed, walking to his bedroom.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rick asked.

"I'm taking a shower. I spent hours on a plane."

"The bathroom is upstairs." he said.

"Oh come on, Kitten, all my stuff is in your bathroom." She said, smiling.

"All your stuff has been thrown away three years ago Meredith. Who do you think you are? This is the first time we see you since the divorce and you just show up pretending nothing happened? Why aren't you going to a hotel or one of your boyfriends?" he all but yell.

"Rick." Kate said, taking his arm and looking at Alexis.

Meredith took advantage of the moment of inattention to slip in Rick's bathroom.

"I'm sorry Pumpkin. I shouldn't have yelled. I'm sorry Pumpkin." he said, picking his crying daughter up. "Don't cry, please. I'm sorry, I'm not going to yell anymore. Please don't cry, it will ruin your pretty butterfly face."

"Kate said I was a princess butterfly."

"You sure are Sweetie, the most beautiful butterfly princess. Hey, why don't you go upstairs and put on your Cinderella costume, then you would look exactly like a butterfly princess." Rick said.

Alexis nodded, rushing up the stairs.

"Are you ok?" Kate immediately asked, turning back to Rick.

"Now that you're here I am." he said, pulling her in his arms. "What are we going to do? She's going to ruin our evening." he continued after having kissed her.

"Hey, she's not going to ruin anything. We're going to do exactly as we planned. Home made pizza, movie night in a blanket fort. And then I had private plans to celebrate the father of the birthday girl." she said, whispering the last part in his ear.

"I think I like that." Rick said, smiling.

"Oh, and I learned something about you today." Kate said, smirking.

"Oh my God, what did she tell you. Whatever it is, there is a high change it's an exaggeration."

"Hey, it's her we're talking about, not you." Kate laughed. "And I hope it's not an exaggeration."

"What did she tell you?" he asked again.

"She said you told her that you love me."

This stopped him. How should he do this? Should he deny it? It was still quite early in their relationship. Maybe it was too early and it would make her run away. But at the same time, it was true. So true. It was still new and yet it was stronger than what he had ever felt for Meredith. And she just said that she hoped it was not an exaggeration, right?

"I did. I do love you Kate Beckett." Rick said, looking at her in the eyes.

"I love you too Rick." she whispered, tears gathering up in her eyes.

After this more than emotional revelation, they could not seem to be able to keep their lips to themselves. They broke apart only when they heard Alexis go down the stairs but they could not keep the smiles off their faces.

"Well, now you really look like a butterfly princess Pumpkin. How do you feel about making home-made pizza?" Rick asked, walking to the kitchen.

"Yay!" Alexis yelled, running after him.

"Alexis, honey, don't yell in the house." Meredith said, emerging from Rick's bedroom.

Kate threw her a glare and joined them in the kitchen.

"So, what do you want to put on that pizza?" she asked, passing behind Rick and letting her hand caress his back.

"Everything. Usually it's ham, peperoni, chicken if we have some, tomatoes, mushrooms and the most important ..." Rick enumerated.

"Tons of cheese!" Alexis completed.

"Wow, that sounds … delicious. Heavy but delicious." Kate laughed, opening the fridge to see what they had.

"Can you make me a salad?" Meredith asked. "There is no way I'm eating your disgusting pizza."

"You know what, if you want a salad, you either make it yourself or you go to a restaurant to eat it, the latter has my preference. There is no way you're ruining my baby girl's birthday dinner." Rick said on an everyday tone.

By the shock that appeared on Meredith face, both Rick and Kate realized that she didn't even remember it was her own daughter's birthday.

"Happy birthday Sweetie." she said.

"Thanks." Alexis answered, not looking up from the pieces of ham she was disposing on the pizza.

"Why are you really here Meredith? Because until now I knew why you came ..." Rick said.

"I have an audition here in New York tomorrow. I knew I could stay here." she said as if it were the most normal thing on earth.

"Well, the thing is, you can't stay here. The guest bedroom is not made."

"Oh I don't count on sleeping in the guest bedroom." she said alluringly.

"Well, there is no way you're sleeping on my couch so you'll have to go to a hotel."

"I seem to recall that our bed was pretty large, Ricky."

Kate could not believe what she was hearing. How could this woman talk to him like that. And in front of their daughter!

"Well, if you must know, I threw this bed out a week after I kicked you out, for obvious reason." he said, shivering at the memory of discovering his wife and her director in their bed while Alexis was sleeping in his office. "And the only woman who will sleep in my bed tonight is Kate. I'd like you to leave now. If you want to see Alexis, come back tomorrow afternoon."

"I can't. I have to leave tomorrow after lunch to go back to L.A. I'm staying here tonight. You are not going to deprive her of her mother, are you?" she asked, trying to make him feel guilty.

What happened next surprised the three of them. Alexis hit her fist on the table and turned completely red.

"You are not my mommy. You're never here, you never read to me, you never take care of me, daddy is mad when you're here or when you call, you never care about me, you never took me shopping like Kate did and you didn't even remember it was my birthday. You're not my mommy!" Alexis yelled really loudly, fat tears rolling down her red cheeks in hysterics, before jumping into Kate's arms.

No one moved for a few seconds, except for Alexis who was sobbing in Kate's neck. Silently, Meredith gathered her things and left. Once he recovered from his shock, Alexis took Rick from Kate and went to her bedroom, leaving Kate to finish the pizza.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Once Alexis had been calmed, the evening got back on tracks. The over-charged pizza was eaten eagerly, the blanket fort was built and the three of them watched two Disney Princess movies. Alexis was asleep on her father by the end of the second one. After successfully getting out of the fort with Alexis in his arms, he went to put her to bed. Kate tidied the most she can and folded the blankets on the couch. She turned around when she heard Rick get down the stairs.

"Is she going to be ok?" she asked, walking to him and embracing him.

"Yeah, I think so. She talked to me for a while after she ...I don't even know how to call it. Anyway, she told me what the two of you talked about in the coffee shop this afternoon."

"I hope it's ok? I ..."

"You're perfect with her Kate. I completely trust you with her."

"Thank you;" Kate simply said, burying herself in his chest.

"Now, I recall you saying something about celebrating the father of the birthday girl?" He said, moving them to the bedroom.

* * *

**So, what did you think of that one?**


	14. Chapter 14

It took a few days for Alexis to go back to her normal self after the Meredith incident on her birthday but everything was back to normal by the time they left for the Hamptons. When Kate received a letter from her father telling that he was now allowed visits, she and Rick decided to go to the Hamptons for a whole week, make the most of Kate's short summer break. They left New York on the Wednesday of her first week off so that she still had some time off if they decided to stay a bit longer.

Rick had told her that he had a house there – which happened to be next to the town where her father was staying – but she never imagined it to be like _that_. When they arrived, Kate just stayed in front of the house, eyes and mouth wide open.

"Come on Kate, let's go inside." Rick said, smiling at her.

She followed him and Alexis inside. This house was absolutely gorgeous. It was huge, modern, very Richard Castle with state-of-the-art gadgets but yet it felt very homy. Maybe even homier than the loft. She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Rick at her back, his arms coming around her.

"You like?" he asked.

"It's gorgeous Rick! Did you decorate it?"

"Yeah, I like coming here in the summer or for the holidays so I made it feel like home. I only bought it two years ago, after Meredith left. I needed somewhere she hadn't spoiled." he explained.

"Well, I think you did a great job. This house is perfect. You have very good taste." Kate said, turning to face him.

"Wait until you see the bedroom. I have a jacuzzi in the en suite." He said, winking at her before going to look for Alexis.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

On the Friday afternoon, after having made the most of the beach, the sea and the jacuzzi, Kate went to visit her father. Rick had asked if she wanted them to come with her but she preferred to go alone, at least for the first time.

She was worried about going to see her father. He had always sounded good when they talked on the phone but she was a bit scared to see him. She really didn't know what to expect. She worried about their meeting the whole car ride to the center but all fears disappeared when she saw her father waiting for her at the entrance. Kate locked Rick's car and run into her father's arms immediately.

"Hey Katie." Jim laughed, hugging his daughter really tight, as if to make up for the lost time.

"I love you Dad." Kate whispered in his neck.

"I love you too Katie. Now come on, let's go to my room." He said, taking her by the hand and leading her through the corridors.

At six o'clock, the visiting hours ended and Kate had to leave.

"Do you have the right to get out for some time?" she asked as she arrived to the car.

"Yes, on Sundays we can go around between 10 and 6. Why?"

"Would you like to come to the house on Sunday and have lunch with us?"

"I would love to Katie. I can't wait to finally meet that man of yours and his daughter. You'll have to come and get me though, I didn't bring my car."

"It's ok Dad, I'll come pick you up. See you on Sunday then." she said, smiling.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

It's only once she arrived at the house that she realized that she didn't check with Rick if it was ok for them to have her father over.

When she entered the house, nobody was to be found. She put her things in the bedroom and headed for the beach where she knew Rick and Alexis loved to build sand castles. When she got on the back deck, she just sat on the steps and looked at them. The looked so great together. They looked like two children playing, and that's one of the things she liked the most about Rick. His ability to fit no matter what. Be it on the beach with his daughter as a friend, at a parent-teacher meeting, at a book signing … He seemed to fit right in no matter where he was. And he was hers. She still had some trouble believing that but there was no way she was letting anyone take him … take them from her. They were her family now.

Thinking about family brought her back to the summer holidays she spent in Florida with her parents when she was about Alexis's age. She had absolutely loved these two weeks away from everything and her parents playing with her all day long. It was heaven. And she would never have it again, her and her two parents playing, laughing, eating ice-cream. She had not really thought about her mother as much as she used to do since she met Rick. He was so distracting and so full of stories … but seeing her father today and the two Castles on the beach … it reminded her of everything she had lost.

She did not have time to think about it much more because she heard Alexis come running to her.

"Kate, Kate, look at what I found. It's a really pretty shell. It's for you." Alexis said, handing her the shell.

"Oh, it's so beautiful. Thank you so much Sweetie, I love it!" Kate said, smiling and hugging the girl.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Later, once Rick and Alexis had showered from their afternoon at the beach, Kate remembered that she still hadn't told Rick she had invited her father.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you, how did it go with your father? Was he better?" Rick asked, as if he could read her mind.

"Yes, he is much better." Kate answered, smiling as she continued to prepare dinner with Alexis's help. "I … Uh … I hope it's ok, I invited him here for lunch on Sunday. It's the only day of the week he is allowed out of the center and I thought it would be good for him. But if you don't want to it's ok, I'll just call him and cancel, he'll understand and ..."

"Hey hey hey Kate, don't worry about that. It's great that he's coming over. You don't have to ask me permission. You do as you want Kate, and I completely understand you need to see your father." Rick stopped her rambling.

"But it's your house and I didn't even ask you if it was ok and ..."

"Kate, you do everything you want. As long as we're together – and that is going to be the case for at least the next 90 years – you can invite whoever you want here, or to the loft. Even more if it's your father. I love you Kate, and what's mine is yours. If you didn't realize it yet, now you know. And saying that I just realized what it meant and I'm scared you're going to run away because I'm such a jerk talking about forever when we met just over a month ago and ..."

In turn, his rambling was cut short by Kate. She kissed him silent and poured all her feelings in that kiss.

"Thank you so much Rick. And I'm not going to run. I have to admit, thinking about forever at 23 is a bit scary … well … a lot scary but I love you, like I've never loved anyone before. And if I want forever with someone it can only be with you. God that sounded more than cheesy, didn't it?" Kate laughed.

Rick could not resist anymore. He grabbed Kate and kissed her like he had never done before. Having completely forgotten that Alexis was with them, they started to get more … passionate about it, only to be cut by Alexis asking:

"Does this mean that I will get a baby brother or sister?"

That made them stop instantly.

* * *

**opinions?**


	15. Chapter 15

**WOW, over 200 reviews! THANK YOU so much dear readers !**

* * *

Kate smiled when she saw her father waiting by the entrance of the center. He was nervous, she could tell. He was going from one foot to the other, one hand in his pocket and the other carrying a teddy bear.

"Hey Dad! You're ready to go?" Kate asked, kissing him on the cheek.

"Yeah sure." her said, going with her to Rick's car.

"What's with the bear?" Kate finally asked.

"Well, the other day you said it was Alexis's birthday so I thought I would get her something, but since we're not allowed to go out of the center, I took this at the gift shop. Do you think she'll like it?" Jim asked, nervous.

"Shell love it, don't worry. But you didn't have to get her anything."

"I couldn't get there empty ended, come on. What kind of a guest would I be?"

"Ok." Kate laughed.

When during the short car ride, she saw that her father was fidgeting in his seat, she laughed again.

"What?"

"You're so nervous!"

"Well, I want to make a good impression. What if they don't like me?"

"Don't worry about that, they're gonna love you. And they're nervous too you know. I think Rick changed his shirt at least five times between the moment he got dressed and when I left to get you." she said. "There is no reason to be nervous dad, I swear."

"But they know where I was, I just want to make sure they know I'm not a ..."

"Hey, nobody is going to judge you in there dad. You're getting better, that's the only thing that counts, ok?"

"Ok. Is that the house?" he asked when he felt the car slow down and come at the end of the driveway.

"Yeah, I know, I was surprised too." Kate laughed, getting out of the car.

They walked to the front door and Kate was about to open it when Alexis appeared from the side of the house, laughing really hard.

"Hey Sweetie, what's going on?" Kate asked.

"It's Daddy. He was … being silly and … he fell into the pool!" Alexis managed to say before bursting into laughter once again.

"Ok." Kate said, trying not to laugh when she saw Rick come toward them, his clothes clinging to his body and making poodles around him. "What happened?"

"I'm so sorry Kate, I … I'm not usually like this Sir, I swear! It just, we were playing with a ball and I kind of … uh … got tangled in my feet and landed in the pool."

"Well, didn't I tell you last night not to play there? I told you someone was going to fall in there." Kate said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Katie, come on, don't scold the man, he's soaking wet. You should help him." Jim said, trying really hard not to laugh with Alexis.

"Come on Fish Man, I'm going to get you a robe, get rid of your clothes here. Alexis, can you take my dad inside while I take care of yours?"

"Sure. What's your name?" Alexis asked him.

"Jim."

"Then let's go Jim." she said, taking his hand and leading him inside.

"Seriously Rick, you fell into the pool, today!"

"Kate, I'm really sorry. I was nervous thinking of meeting your dad so I had to distract myself!"

"I love you Rick." Kate said, kissing him thoroughly while trying not to touch him. "Now, I'm going to get you a robe, take off your clothes and you can go get changed."

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

After lunch, the four of them decided to take a walk on the beach. The warm breeze was making it enjoyable despite the heat. Kate and Rick were walking hand in hand behind Jim and Alexis. From what Kate could hear, the little girl was explaining to Jim how the fish could breathe under water. Jim was pretending to be interested and asked her a lot of questions, to which she was happy to answer.

"He seems to like her." Rick noticed.

"Rick, no one can not like your daughter. She is just so cute and perfect!" Kate said.

"Just like her father then?"

"The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree ..."

"They look really good together. And she was so happy with this teddy bear. You know, she already named him Mr. Beckett."

"Really?" Kate laughed.

"Really. And she looked very serious about it when she told me." Rick said.

"I'm happy they're getting along so well. He needs that kind of fun to distract him from … everything. But he looks much better than the last time I saw him at the hospital."

"He does look good. And he looks happy to have his baby girl with him too. He couldn't stop looking at you during lunch and he had that smile on his face ..."

"Wow, you're such a romantic Rick." Kate said, kissing him softly. "I saw him look a lot at you too, you know. And he seemed satisfied with what he saw … despite the first appearance.." she continued.

"I'm so sorry about that Kate, I really am and ..."

"I know Rick, don't worry. I'm just teasing you. This was hilarious the way you showed up all wet and dripping … Rick, come back!" Kate said, laughing when he walked away from her to get to Alexis.

"What's going on?" Jim asked, having been replaced by Rick to Alexis's side.

"Nothing, I'm just making fun of him falling into the pool." Kate said, smiling.

"He is good for you Katie. You're smiling again." Jim noticed.

"Yeah. I … I love him dad." Kate said, blushing furiously.

"I noticed." Jim said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "You look at him just the way your mother used to look at me. You look like her so much Katie and she would be so proud of you."

"She would be proud of you too, you know. Not for … your problem with alcohol but for trying so hard to fix it."

"Well, I'm doing it partly for her. I don't want her to be disappointed in me from wherever she's watching. I'm doing it for our family."

"I'm proud of you too dad."

"Thank you Katie." Jim said, kissing her on the cheek. "It's still a long way to recovery but I will make it. You know I … I went to her grave the day before I went to the center and I promised her I would do it. For me but also for you. Because I don't want to miss more of your life than I already did in four years. I swear to you I'll get better and I'll be here for you when you need me. I'll be here to walk you down the aisle, I'll be here when my grandchildren come to the world, I'll be here when you'll freak out because Alexis has her first boyfriend, I'll be here when ..."

"I get it Dad, thank you." Kate laughed. "But don't plan on grandchildren right away, ok? Let's take it one step at a time."

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When she was getting ready for bed that night, Kate was thinking. Thinking hard. So hard that she bumped into Rick going out of the bathroom.

"Hey, are you ok?" Rick asked, catching her before she fell backwards.

"Uh? Yeah I'm fine. I … uh … I need to tell you something."

"Ok. What is it?" Rick asked, looking worried.

Kate walked to the bed on sat on it, her back against the headboard. Rick went with her, sitting Indian style opposite her. He took her hand.

"Talk to me Kate. Please."

"I … I didn't say it to many people because the few I told either pitied me or got scared and ran away. But I don't want you to be like that. I just want to tell you and you accept it. I don't need your pity, I just want you to continue to love me. I don't know what I would do if you left me and ..."

"Kate. Just tell me. I promise I'll still love you no matter what it is. Just tell me please. I'm getting worried here."

"I … uh … It's about my mom. She died four years ago, I told you that." She waited for him to nod before continuing. "She didn't … just die. She was murdered. Stabbed in an alley." Kate managed to say before bursting into tears.

It took Rick a couple of seconds to react to what he had just heard. He moved and took her into his arms, caressing her back and kissing her hair.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

**So, what do you think?**


	16. Chapter 16

After they left the Hamptons and went back to New York, time seemed to flew by between murder cases, weekend visits to Jim, family life at the loft, getting together with friends … It was now Kate's birthday and she had the weekend off, something that had not happened in a while, and she was happy to sleep in.

She did not mind waking up when she felt Rick's lips starting to kiss her. Head, cheek, mouth, neck, shoulder. She forgot all about sleeping when she felt him open the shirt she was sleeping in. A shirt she had stolen from him.

"Good morning." Rick whispered against her stomach, kissing his way up to her mouth.

"What time is it?" Kate asked, trying to keep her eyes open.

"A bit after six."

"You wake me up at 6 on my birthday? Why?" Kate whined, still welcoming his kisses.

"Well, Alexis was pretty exited about your birthday last night and I wanted to be the first one to properly wish you a happy birthday." Rick said, getting rid of the shorts she was wearing.

"Well, I like when you wake me up like that." Kate smiled, responding to his kisses and caresses.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Once Alexis was awake, they all prepared breakfast and the birthday girl had her pancake with a whipped-cream 24 on it.

"What do you want to do today Kate?" Alexis asked.

"I don't know. I don't usually do anything special on my birthday. In fact I think I was working on the last ones." She answered.

"Well, we can do whatever you want Kate, but I made reservations for the two of us tonight so, we have to be back here around five to get ready." Rick said.

"How about … we go to the zoo and we have a picnic in the park?" Kate proposed. "I haven't been to the zoo in like forever."

"Sure. Let's do that!"

"Do you want to go now?" Alexis asked.

"Not now. I have something I have to do before. How about we meet at the entrance of the zoo at 10?"

"Sure, that's perfect." Rick answered.

He knew that she wanted to visit her mother's grave and that she wanted to be alone for a while. After Kate had told him what happened to her mother when the were in the Hamptons during the summer, Rick understood a lot more about her. Like her need for alone time.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When Kate arrived to the cemetery, she felt good. When she walked up the aisles, she felt pretty good. When she stopped in front of her mother's grave, for the first time ever, she felt at peace. Of course she was sad and of course it hurt but for the first time she was able to focus on the good memories of her mother rather than on her death and its tragic consequences. Since she had talked to Rick, he made her think about it and now she was … less depressed than before. Of course, she still cried when she thought about what had happened but now she could also laugh at memories of her. In a way, she also felt closer to her now that she had Alexis. It was as if they could relate on the fact of being a parent. Even if she was not Alexis's mother, every time something happened, she remembered how her mother used to react in such or such circumstance and it helped her move on.

On her mother's grave, there were already two bunches of flowers. One she recognized to be the one her father bought every year on her birthday. He must have send it this year. The second one she couldn't guess so she took the card and read it. That made her cry.

_Mrs Beckett, thank you so much for you daughter. She is the most perfect woman that I ever met. You have an extraordinary daughter and you can be proud of her. I'm sorry I'll never get to meet you. Rick Castle._

Kate knelt down in front of the grave and smiled despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. She placed her flowers between her dad's and Rick's.

"Hey Mom. I'm 24 today. But of course you know that. You always knew everything." Kate said, smiling. "I hope you had had a chance to meet Rick. He's so sweet and caring … nothing like the celebrity magazines picture him. I'm so happy with him mom! I think he might be the one. And the fact that he sent you flowers without even telling me shows what kind of man he is. I don't have much time to talk because I have to meet him and Alexis at the zoo soon. Alexis is his daughter. She's so cute and nice. She is the perfect little girl. They're so good to me, both of them. Dad is getting better too. You can be proud of him, really. I love you Mom, but I need to go."

She placed a kiss on the tombstone and left, happy to have talked to her mother and happy for the day that was to come.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Kate was getting ready for her romantic evening with Rick and she still couldn't believe what a great day they all had.

The visit of the zoo was great. It was pretty busy but it was nice all the same. Alexis bought her a stuffed panda for her birthday present and they played with it. The picnic in the park was also great. It reminded all of them of the first "date" they had together, but this time Rick and Kate could not stop kissing each other on every occasion, as if to make up for their last picnic when the two of them had shown a lot of restraint. But what marked her the most was Alexis's reflexion when they were driving to her place so she could get a dress for the evening.

"Why do you still have an apartment since you're always with us?" Alexis had asked.

That was a really good question. Kate saw Rick smile but she didn't think he had put his daughter to this. When they had entered the apartment, Kate had packed a big suitcase with her stuff and they left to get ready at the loft.

When Kate finally got out of the bedroom, Rick, who was in his office, stopped whatever he was doing.

"Oh my God Kate! You look ..."

"You like?" she asked, turning around for him to see everything.

"I love it, it's so gorgeous. You are so gorgeous!"

"Come on, let's go and enjoy our dinner." Kate said, taking his hand and pulling him to the door.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

The restaurant Rick had chosen was very nice. Very famous but still quite intimate and the food was delicious. They were talking about a lot of things when Rick suddenly stopped and look at her with a smile.

"What?" she asked, smiling at him.

"I have a present for you." Rick said, putting a rectangular jewelry box in front of her.

"Rick, you shouldn't have, it's ..."

"I shouldn't have got a present for my girlfriend on her birthday, really?"

"I was happy with the panda." Kate said, smiling at him.

"Well, the panda was from Alexis. This is from me. Now open it."

"Uh … bossy much?" she asked, trying not to tear up the wrapping paper.

She could see Rick wanting to help her open it. He was the kind of guy who could just not wait to know what his present was. Just like a kid.

When Kate finally opened the box, she gasped.

"Oh my God, Rick! It's beautiful." she said, taking the gold heart-shaped locket out of its box.

There was an inscription engraved: _Always_.

"Open it." Rick simply said, smiling at her and eager to see her reaction.

She did and she found two pictures inside, one of himself and one of Alexis, both of them making funny faces. She laughed and got up. Not caring about what type of restaurant they were in, she went to him and kissed him.

"Thank you. It's perfect. I love you so much Rick. You and Alexis both." She said, feeling tears gather in her eyes.

"I know. Hey, let's go home." Rick said, getting out of his chair.

They gathered their things and got out of the restaurant, hand in hand.

"Hey, the evening is about to get better honey." Rick whispered in her ear in the backseat of the town car he had ordered.

"I don't think that's possible, Rick. Tonight was perfect." she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Well, I know for a fact that my mother has taken Alexis to her place for the night. We have the loft all to ourselves. And I bought your favorite ice cream." Rick said, kissing her.

* * *

**So, what did you think of this one?**

**This is what i saw as Kate's dress: ** www**.**theoutnet**.**com/product/326047?cm_mmc=LinkshareUS-_-J84DHJLQkR4-_-Custom-_-LinkBuilder&siteID=J84DHJLQkR4-S4KnO7X1igz_to_qlkbdTg**  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**WOW, over 200 reviews! **

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing on this story!  
**

**Here is the new chapter, as a reward for your kindness ;-)  
**

**ENJOY!  
**

* * *

Kate was doing her last minute Christmas shopping but she wasn't really paying attention. She had only one thing on her mind: "I'm late". She had never been late and it was freaking her out. Sure, there had been some signs but she always had a reasonable explanation that had nothing to do with … that! She had been really tired for the last two weeks but she assumed it was because she had been moving in with the Castles.

After her birthday, Kate and Rick had talked about their living situation – basically Kate staying at the loft all the time and thus paying for an apartment she was not living in – and decided that she would move in with them. This had been a big step for Kate. She had never lived with anyone else than her parents. But she had been unofficially living with Rick and Alexis for over four months and she didn't even realize it. Kate had supposed she was so tired because of all the packing, moving and unpacking. But maybe there was another explanation.

Kate had also been sick for the last few days but she didn't pay much attention to it. First, Alexis had been sick and staying at home so Kate thought she might have caught whatever Alexis had. And the weekend before, the whole gang went to a new Chinese restaurant and everyone expect Javier had been sick for a couple of days. But maybe there was another explanation.

Kate stopped when she passed a pharmacy. She needed to know. She couldn't keep wondering. It had already been two days since she had noticed but she had been too busy at work and didn't have time to check. After a few minutes in front of the door, Kate entered and took a basket. Filling it with shampoo, conditioner and beauty product, she hid a pregnancy test in the middle. On her way back to the loft, she slipped it into her bag and left the shopping bag in the bathroom. She needed to do it when she was alone and when she knew that no one would disturb her.

"Kate, where are you?" She heard Rick call.

"In the bedroom." she called back.

"Hey, I have to go for a few hours. Emergency meeting at Black Pawn, could you get Alexis from school?" Rick asked, kissing her quickly.

"Yeah sure, no problem. I'll take her and then we'll start packing so that we're ready to leave for the Hamptons."

"Did I tell you how perfect you are?"

"Not today no." Kate laughed.

"Well, Katherine Beckett, you are perfect, and I love you." Rick said, kissing her once more before running out of the loft.

Well, maybe she'll have time to do it after all.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

"Hey Lanie. How are you doing?" Kate asked to her friend over the phone.

"I'm fine, but what about you? You have a strange voice."

"I … uh … Can I stop by the morgue quickly for you to do a blood test?"

"Kate, what's going on? Are you alright?" Lanie asked, clearly worried.

"Well, I … I've been late for a couple of days and I took a test and … I just want to be sure."

"Kate Beckett, are you telling me you're pregnant?" Lanie whisper-yelled into the phone.

"Well, that's what the test said. But I want to be sure. You know how these things can get ..." Kate said, trying to sound casual.

"Did you … Did you plan it?" Lanie asked cautiously.

"No, not really. I mean, we talked about it several times but we said we would wait a while. I mean, we've been together for six months Lanie!"

"You didn't use protection? Aren't you on the pill?"Lanie asked.

"Yes and yes. Well, I kind of forgot to take it twice in the same week around my birthday and … oh ..."

"Oh … What?"

"My birthday. The night Rick took me out, Alexis was at Martha's and … well … we didn't have protection within reach every time."

"How many times are we talking here Miss Becket?" Lanie asked, the smile clear in her voice.

"Uh..."

"Come on. How many? Five? Six?"

"More than that and that's all you're going to get from me. So, can I come. I have to pick Alexis up from school in an hour."

"Yeah, sure you can come. I'll be waiting for you."

"Ok, thanks. I'm leaving right now."

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Kate was at the school before the end of class so she waited by her car. She quickly got wrapped in her thoughts. She was pregnant. Well, she thought she was pregnant and the home test she took confirmed it. Now she just had to wait for the blood test to come back to Lanie and she would be 100% sure. And she was happy about it. Sure, she never thought she would become a mother at 24 but it was good. Rick would be thrilled when she told him. He loved kids, and he was a great father. Alexis was the perfect example. And she thought she could be a good mom with his help. She had never really thought about it but now that it was there, she just couldn't wait for the results to come back.

She was thinking of creative ways to tell Rick that she was pregnant when she saw Alexis come running to her from the school.

"Hey Kate! It's the Holidays!"

"Yes it is." Kate laughed. "Now come on, let's go home and start packing. We're leaving early tomorrow morning."

"Yay! It's so cool you took a week off work." Alexis said, really excited about this Christmas week in the Hamptons.

"Yeah, you'll have to thank Javier and Kevin for that. They are going to work more so that I can stay with you and your dad."

"They're really good friends, aren't they?"

"Yes they are." Kate said, smiling.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Kate was going to turn crazy. Lanie had said the results would be back in the evening. It was 8 and she hadn't heard back from her. She was pacing in the bedroom when Rick came to look for her.

"Hey Kate, do you know where … are you ok?" he asked, noticing her pacing.

"Yes, I'm fine. What did you want?"

"I was looking for my phone charger … are you sure you're ok? You're biting your nails, you never do that!"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Look, I don't know where your charger is. I'm going to take a shower ok?" she said, kissing him and heading into the bathroom.

Rick was searching for his charger in his drawers and under the bed – it's really impressive the number of things that end up there – when Kate's phone started to ring. He barely had time to react that Kate was flying to it, dressed only in her underwear. She obviously had been in the undressing stage of her shower. She jumped on the bed to get to her phone and read the message she just got. A message from Lanie.

_Congratulations Mommy!_

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Kate kept repeating, tears rolling down her cheeks while a huge smile took place on her face.

"Kate what is it? Are you ok?" Rick asked, coming to her and looking really concerned.

"I'm fine Rick. I'm great even." She said before kissing him passionately.

"Ok Kate, not that I don't like it when you kiss me like that but … what's happening?"

"I … uh … we … we're going to have a baby!" she finally said, smiling at him.

"What? Really? Like … Seriously?" Rick asked, looking completely lost.

"You're not happy. Oh God, what did I do? It was an accident I swear and I ..."

Kate was cut short by Rick's lips on hers, and Rick's body pushing her into the bed.

"We're going to have a baby." he whispered when he pulled away form her.

He put one of his hands on Kate's stomach and caressed her. He was happy, she could see it. It had been a shock for him but he was happy about it. He was smiling, he was kissing her stomach, he was talking to her stomach. Kate laughed and leaned down completely on the bed, putting her hands above his.

They were going to have a baby!

* * *

**So, what did you think of that one?**


	18. Chapter 18

**Oh my God this promo!**

**seriously!**

**how are we suppose to wait until the 24th now? uh?**

**Who wants to buy a time machine with me?**

* * *

Kate, Rick and Alexis had been in the Hamptons for a few days when Martha joined them the day before Christmas. Jim would also be able to join them for a few days since he had gotten out of the center. He had decided to move not to be tempted again by staying in the old family house where there were so many memories of Johanna and his drinking problem. He had moved in Kate's old apartment which hadn't been rented yet and he was to join them on Christmas Day.

Kate was really looking forward to this family reunion. It would be the first time her new family would be together. Johanna would be there too in a way. Rick had framed a picture of her and put it next to the Christmas tree on the chimney mantle piece. She had found it really cute that he had thought of her mother on this occasion.

Alexis was really excited over Christmas and was running and jumping everywhere when they decorated the tree the day before Martha arrived. Kate had not had a Christmas tree since her mother had died and she was really happy to do it with them. After dinner, the three of them decided to watch Christmas movies and Alexis fell asleep on her father. Rick went upstairs to put Alexis to bed.

When he came back down, he stayed on the stairs for a few minutes, looking at her. She was standing in front of the French windows, looking outside, a hand against her still flat stomach. She watched the waves crash on the sand, a dreamy look on her face. Her face was lit up by the lights on the Christmas tree and she looked so … young, and beautiful and perfect. He slipped quietly in his office. He had planned to ask her when her father and his mother were here but seeing her like that, he just couldn't wait anymore. And it was supposed to be an intimate occasion anyway. Right?

He walked behind her without her hearing or seeing anything and got down on one knee. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Hey Rick, I was thinking … oh my God!" Kate said, turning to him and stopping as soon as she saw him. "What's happening?"

"Kate. I love you. I know we haven't been together for so long but I love you and I'm sure that's never going to change. I don't know what it is but I will cherish it for the rest of my life if you make me the happiest man in the world. Kate Beckett, will you marry me?" He asked, opening the ring box he had in his hands.

"Rick! Oh my God … yes. Yes of course I'll marry you. Of course." Kate said, tears rolling down her cheeks, her eyes shining, a huge smile on her face.

Rick got up and took her left hand. Looking at her in the eyes, he put the ring on her finger, brought her hand to his lips and kissed her ring. Kate couldn't look away from it. It was just … perfect. A square diamond and smaller stones encrusted along the ring. It was so beautiful.

All of a sudden, Rick saw her smile drop and panicked.

"Kate? You don't like it?" he asked, his voice high pitched.

"No, I love it. It's perfect Rick." she said.

"Then what is it? You're regretting your answer?"

"No... it's not that. It's just … You're not asking just because I'm pregnant are you? Because if it's the reason, I'd prefer not to do this right now. I'll marry you but not now and ..."

"Kate, it's not because your pregnant." he said, taking her by the hand and leading her to the couch. "The other day when I told you I had a meeting at Black Pawn well, I didn't. I went to pick up the ring. I saw it one day when I was walking on the street and it just stopped me. It screamed your name and I knew it would be perfect for you. That following day, I called your father to ask him."

"Ask him what?" Kate asked, looking at him completely lost.

"I asked him … I know it's cliché but I had to do it. I needed to have his blessing before asking you."

"And he just said yes?"

"Oh no." Rick laughed. "He gave me the full speech before. Trying to scare me away with threats of bodily harm if I hurt his baby girl. But he ended up saying yes."

"And what if he had said no?" Kate asked, curious.

"Well, I'm really happy that he said yes but if he hadn't I would have still asked you. Your father's blessing is important to me but your answer is all that matters to me." he explained. "I planned on asking you on Christmas day when everyone was here but I saw you there by the window … it was just the perfect moment."

"Thank you. I love it." Kate said, looking at her ring. "And I love you. I'd be honored to be your wife." she said before kissing him passionately.

"You gave me quite a scare over there, I have to admit." Rick laughed.

"I know, I'm sorry. But I didn't want to get engaged just before I am carrying our child. I'm very happy to do so but I didn't want it to … change what we had." She tried to explain.

"Don't worry I get it. But I swear I planned on asking you before I even knew you were growing a human in here." Rick laughed, passing his hand beneath her clothes and caressing hers stomach.

"Do you mind if we have a long engagement?" Kate asked almost shyly.

"No, I don't mind honey. We get married whenever you want." he said, kissing her.

"It's just … I don't want to get married while I'm pregnant and when the baby is really young, it's not going to be easy. And I'd like him or her on the pictures with us and Alexis."

"Wow, you already thought about this, didn't you."

"I may have imagined different scenarios." She admitted. "And all of them had a pretty intense engagement celebration at the beginning." she said, kissing his neck just where she knew it would drive him crazy.

* * *

**here is Kate's engagement ring:** www**.**tiffany**.**fr/Engagement/Item**.**aspx?GroupSKU=GRP10056#f+0/1003/0/0/0/1003

**Anything to say on this chapter? I'm all hears ;-)**


	19. Chapter 19

Kate and Rick were still sleeping when Alexis barged into their room and jumped on the bed.

"It's Christmas! It's Christmas! Santa came! Santa came! Come downstairs now, we've gotta open the presents!" she yelled and got out of the room as quickly as she had come in.

Kate rolled on her side to cuddle into Rick but he was already up and putting his robe on.

"Where are you going?" she mumbled in her pillow.

"Downstairs. Didn't you hear Alexis, Santa came!" he said, excitedly.

"I know, I helped him put the presents under the tree. And you were there too."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now get up and come downstairs, the child is waiting." he said, running out the door.

"Who's the child now?" she called from the bed.

She fell down on her pillow and tried to gather the courage to get out of the warm and comfortable bed she was in. She was getting out when she heard Alexis and Rick call for her.

"Kate, come on!"

"We're in for a lot of Christmas like this one Baby, we better get used to it." Kate said, passing a hand on her stomach. "And I have to stop doing that or everyone will know about you before we decide to know them." she continued, walking to the door.

"It might be a little late for that darling." Martha said, joining her in the hallway.

"Oh God! Martha, you scared me." Kate said, putting her hand to her chest. "Wait … you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Well, first you're glowing so I had to find out why. Of course there is that ring on your finger but there was something else. I put together the throwing up, the sleeping, the eating weird things and it gave me the idea. And I had the confirmation when I saw you and Rick last night on the couch when you were watching TV, you both had both of your hands on your stomach. How far along are you?" Martha asked.

"I don't know, I found out just before we left to come here. I have an appointment the day we get back in the city. But … I think a month or so." Kate said, blushing.

"Well, I'm happy for you, really. I will love to have another grandchild." Martha said, hugging her.

"Thanks. Could you … keep it to yourself? We decided not to tell anyone before the doctor appointment, just to be on the safe side."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Martha smiled before going down the stairs.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When Jim arrived just after they had taken their breakfast, Alexis raced her father to the tree to open her presents. She had been so impatient that she was allowed to open one before Kate's father arrived. Rick had pouted for a while when he didn't get the right to do the same but Kate had been forgiven when she let him have the last piece of bacon.

After having exchanged gifts, Kate headed to the kitchen to get started on the lunch.

"I don't know which of them is the happiest with their gifts." Jim laughed, joining his daughter.

"I'd say it's Rick. He's worse than Alexis. He actually jumped up and down when he opened his miniature helicopter Martha got him." Kate said, smiling.

She looked at them in the living room for a while. They were trying to build the doll house Alexis had got. They looked so good together, they were the perfect example of father-daughter relationship. She really hoped he would bond like that with the child she was expecting too. They would be the perfect normal family. She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt her fathers hand on hers.

"So, I see he couldn't wait to ask you Katie." Jim said, tracing her engagement ring with his finger.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? I really didn't expect it."

"He planned on asking you today you know. He called me several times to talk about you and he even came to see me last week to be sure you were going to say yes." Jim laughed.

"Yeah, about that, I heard you threatened to hurt him ..." Kate said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hey, that was my job as your father. It's one of the few things I have left so I had to use it." Jim laughed. "He understood anyway. He even asked me for tips for when Alexis will be old enough to have a boyfriend. And he doesn't see that happening before she is at least thirty, his words, not mine."

"Yeah … I think he's going to have a hard time letting her go. And she will have a lot of suitors. She is so beautiful." Kate said, dreaming, looking at Rick and Alexis working together once again. "Do you want something to eat before lunch? I'm gonna have a sandwich." Kate proposed.

"No, I'm fine thanks." Jim said, looking at her go around the kitchen.

He could see that something was on her mind. She had that look on her face. It had not changed when she grew up. When she was thinking hard about something, she had this frown on her forehead, a certain light in her eyes and that cute little pout she mastered when she was five and trying to write her name.

"Dad?"

"Hum?"

"I … I need to tell you something." Kate said quietly.

"OK, I'm listening."

"It's pretty important and … Rick and I decided to wait but I just can't wait anymore, not with you."

"Kate, what is it?" Jim asked.

"I … uh … I'm pregnant." she said, almost whispering.

"I figured as much." Jim said, hugging her.

"You knew? How?" Kate asked, really surprised.

"What are you preparing here?" Jim asked her, pointing at the sandwich she had put on the counter.

"A snack."

"No, this is not a snack. This has a name." Jim said, smiling.

"What are you talking about? Did you start drinking again?" Kate asked, fear filling her eyes at the second question.

"No, I didn't. But I assure you this … thing you call a snack has a name. It is known as the Johanna Beckett Pregnancy Masterpiece. She named it, not me. Because I can assure you, for having tasted it, this is no masterpiece. It made me throw up." Jim laughed at the memory, getting his daughter back in his arms. "I can't believe she passed that on to you."

"Well, apparently we have the same taste for baby food." Kate said, smiling.

"My baby girl is having a baby." Jim said, as if he was just realizing it, tears gathering in his eyes.

"Hey, don't cry. It's a good thing Dad. We're really happy about it." Kate reassured him.

"I know but still, my baby is gonna be a mommy."

"I really wish she was here you know? She could help me with all of this. She could tell me how it was when she was expecting me." Kate whispered, looking at the ground to hide her sadness.

"Hey Katie, she is here. And she is looking after you from wherever she is. She will guide you when you need it, don't worry about that. And you'll have Rick to help you too." Jim said, taking her back in his arms.

"But it's not the same." she pouted.

"I know it's not the same Sweetie. You know what? I think I kept the books she read when we were waiting for you to join our family. Would you like to have them? I think she even wrote notes in them when it wasn't exactly like what she was feeling." Jim said.

"That sounds like Mom." Kate laughed. "And I'd love to have them."

"Ok, I will hunt them for you. What do you say we go back to preparing lunch? I think Rick and Alexis will be hungry after building the doll house." Jim proposed.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

After lunch, the whole Beckett-Castle family settled in the living room for a Christmas movie marathon. After having gathered blankets and prepared snacks Rick, Kate and Alexis sat on the couch, Jim and Martha taking the armchairs. The fire was burning in the chimney, the snow was falling outside as far as they could see through the French windows and they were all snuggled up in front of the TV. This was the perfect way to spend Christmas day.

After the third movie, only Jim and Martha were still awake. The occupants of the couch were just now a pile of sleeping people. Rick was sitting in the corner, Kate cuddled into his said, her head resting on his shoulders. Rick had his arm around Kate's shoulders and his head resting on hers. Rick's other hand was on Alexis's head. She was sleeping across the two of them, her head on the arm of the couch sticking out of the blanket, her feet sticking from the other end, on Kate's legs.

When Jim turned from the TV to ask them what they wanted to watch next, he found them all sleeping. He looked at them for a few seconds, taking in the scene before him. This was his Katie's family now, and they looked so cute together.

"Hey Martha, do you have a camera?" Jim whispered.

This moment just had to be immortalized.

* * *

**So, what did you think?**

**Only one more chapter to go ...  
**


	20. Chapter 20

On the day they returned to New York, Kate and Rick had an appointment at the doctor's to get Kate checked up, make sure everything was right. In the waiting room, Kate was starting to lose her patience. She wanted to know that everything was going to be ok, that her baby was healthy and developing properly. She was going to go crazy if the doctor didn't show up in the next few minutes. Thankfully, she was called soon after, much to Rick's relief.

After half an hour in the doctor's office, Kate and Rick left the hospital with huge smiles on their faces. Their baby was perfectly fine, Kate was perfectly fine … everything was perfect! Kate couldn't seem to be able to look at anything but the ultrasound picture the doctor had given them before they left. She had looked so happy when she had seen their child on the screen that Rick wanted to cry. He was part of why she was so happy and … it made him more than happy.

"Can we tell the boys at dinner on Friday?" Kate asked, still looking at the picture.

"Sure. It will be the good occasion to give such good news." Rick said, kissing her on the cheek. "We should tell Alexis tonight, now that we're sure everything is fine. She was worried about you last night when you couldn't stop throwing up."

"Yeah, we'll tell her tonight. Do you think she'll be happy about it?" Kate asked, suddenly worried that it was going to be a problem.

"She'll be fine Kate. You remember that time when we were in the Hamptons and she asked if we were going to have a baby? She seemed happy about the idea. And when we went to the mall to take a picture with Santa, I'm pretty sure I heard her ask for a brother or sister."

"You're just making that up, Rick." Kate laughed.

"No, I swear it's true. I didn't really think about it until now." Rick said.

"Well, let's go home, I want to take a nap." Kate said, yawning as they reached the car.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Since Kate was working on New Year's Eve along with Javier and Kevin, the group of friends decided to celebrate the new year on the Friday night when everybody was free and had the following weekend off.

Kate was feeling much better since the doctor had given her vitamins. She was less tired and the nausea was gradually getting better. She was ready to party with her friends and family that night. Rick had said he would take care of the dinner but Kate had managed to leave the precinct quite early so that she could help him.

When she entered the loft, she was greeted by Alexis who ran to her.

"Hey Mommy, we're playing dress up with Jim, come look." Alexis said, pulling her by the hand to the living room.

Kate stopped when she saw her father. He had a tiara on his head, a fairy wand in his hand and he had a pink sheet draped around him. She saw at his face that he didn't want any comments so she just told Alexis she needed to go to the bathroom and went to her room. The door was hardly shut that her laugh echoed in the whole apartment. When she calmed down, she got back out, her teary eyes betraying her laughing.

"You're so cute Princess Daddy." she said, kissing his cheek and running away before he could hit her with his wand.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Around 9, all the guests were at the loft: Kevin, Lanie, Javier, Martha and of course Jim, Rick, Kate and Alexis. They were having drinks before eating when Kate decided it was time to tell the boys. She didn't know how to launch the subject but Javier provided her with the perfect opening.

"Hey girl, lose the juice and take a drink, it's a New Year celebration!"

"I'm fine Javi. I prefer juice." Kate said, smiling.

"You can't prefer juice to that wonderful punch your man made! It's absolutely delicious." he said, handing her a glass.

"Really, I'm fine. I think I'm gonna lose alcohol for a while."

"I get it, you want to stick together with your dad and it's sweet but come on! Jim!" he called. "Tell your daughter she can drink at least a glass."

"I'm not sure. I'd rather not."

"What is it with you Becketts tonight? Hey Sweetie, do you know why Kate doesn't want to drink?" Javier asked Alexis.

The little girl looked at Kate with question in her eyes. Kate nodded and Alexis jumped and smiled.

"Its because she has a baby in her tummy!" she said really proudly before hugging Kate's side.

The room went silent for a minute, Javier and Kevin looking incredulously at her, all the others looking at their reaction. Kate was about to tell something when she found herself engulfed in Javier's arms. Apparently, he was happy for her, for them.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Once they had finished eating, they all moved back to the living room while Kate went in the kitchen to prepare coffee for everyone and hot cocoa for Alexis and herself. As she was waiting for the coffee to brew, she sat on the counter and looked at everyone in the living room. They were all talking and laughing together. This was he family now and she couldn't be happier. Thinking about the year that had just ended, she realized how much had changed for her and everyone in her new family was part of that change.

First, there was Javier. He had been part of her life for quite some time now. He was a very good friend to her, she often thought about him as the older brother she never had. He had seemed so moved when he knew she was pregnant, she really didn't expect such a reaction from him. He was always playing tough guy but he was really a sweet guy. He looked after her when they were on the job. He made sure to remind Rick that he would kill him if he hurt hurt every change he got … He was the first one to give her a feeling of family after her mother died.

Then, there was Kevin. He arrived in their little family later than the others but he easily found his place as the sweet guy who could give comfort no matter what the occasion was. He knew how much Rick and Alexis were important to her and he made sure that she could leave earlier to get back to them when it was possible. Even if it meant that he would do part of her paperwork. He was more like the little brother she never had. He was always sweet and ready to help. He had baby sat Alexis several times when Rick and Kate had gone out on a date. He was really good with Alexis and she absolutely adored him.

Lanie had gone from the annoying nurse who had forced her to go home with a stranger to one of the closest friends she had ever had. She was really good at girl talk and help Kate voice what she really wanted. Behind her shell, Lanie had also proved to be a lot like Kate and she knew she could trust her. If Lanie hadn't been there when she fainted in front of the hospital, a lot of things would have been different – a story that Lanie liked to remind her when Kate was complaining about her being to nosy in her questions about Rick.

Alexis. She had changed everything in her life. She had made her feel so loved and so special. She was starting to call her mommy sometimes. She was not doing it on purpose at first but when Rick and Kate told her about the baby, she asked Kate directly, arguing that the new baby was going to call her mommy and that she would like to do too. When she was with Alexis, Kate felt like she was in contact with her mother somehow. And she understood why her parents had gone completely crazy some times with her because one thing was certain, she was not an angel like Alexis at her age!

Martha was little by little becoming a mother figure for Kate. She was not replacing Johanna, far from it. No one ever could replace her anyway. But she gave good advice, no matter what the subject was. Kate knew that she could rely on her and she was an endless source of information on Richard Castle.

Her father had also changed a lot in this year. He had gone from depressed alcoholic to being cured. He was still having a hard time accepting the death of his wife and that was made worse by the thought of having betrayed her trust by drinking his problems away. He felt like he had failed his wife regarding their daughter. But everything was slowly getting better for him. With help from doctors and psychiatrists, he was slowly but surely going back to his old self. He was close to Kate once again and he had promised to call her if anything went wrong and he felt the need to drink again. He wanted to turn this page of his life and be a good part of his daughter's life.

And of course, there was Rick. He had changed so much in her life in such a short period of time that Kate had trouble identifying them. It was a whole. He had made her move on with her life. He had loved her no matter what her story was. He had trusted her with his daughter from the very beginning of their relationship. He had made her smile again. He had made her believe in life and love again. Kate had never felt so loved before she met him. Of course, she had had other serious boyfriends but none of them felt really right. Richard Castle was right for her and she knew it. And nothing could change that. When she was in his arms, she was at home. He made her feel safe, loved, beautiful, worthy … She wouldn't be where she was if it wasn't for him. She owed him a lot more than both of them realized. And soon she would be his wife, and the mother of his child. She still couldn't believe it. With their love for each other, they had created a human being. From scratch. They had created a new life!

Kate was pulled out of her thought by the timer of the coffee machine going off. She gathered the mugs and the coffee pot on a tray and walked to the living room.

To the people who had given her life he new meaning.

To the people who had offered her a new start.

* * *

**So, what did you think of the ending?**

**I really wanted to thank you all for reading this story, it means the world to me to know that you liked it! You made it better with your suggestions and really nice reviews that kept me going!**

**THANKS AGAIN !**


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